Think I'm going to set up a 10 gallon SW

[quaddity]

I think you'd be best suited with an all in one like a Nanocube or Aquapod. They are fully sealed and the PCs in the will allow you to grow a variety of soft corals and some LPS.

Patience is definitely good in saltwater. I guess I'm part of the old school crowd of cycling I always have cycled my tanks with damsels.

 

[GlaringToast]

I always cycle my tank with the most expensive fish I can find. I would suggest cycling your 10/20 gallon with a Gem Tang. It will only set you back $3200 and makes for a somewhat edible dinner when it dies. Hahahaha, I would suggest cycling with damsels as well Green Chromis are probably the best bet since they're (almost) indestructible. Also a way to quicken the cycling process is you take some live sand from an established tank and seed your sand, you can also use some water from another system to help jumpstart the cycle.

Normal cycle time is 3-6 weeks, using sand and water you can cut that down significantly. Just make sure to get the saltwater master test kit cuz you WILL need that.

 

[Lorna]

The general rule of thumb these days is to go with a fishless cycle as it is less cruel to the fish. You can do this just as quickly by adding fully cured live rock and seeding the sand with a cup or so from a fellow reefer.

 

[Toam]

Well the only tanks I currently have in operation are all freshwater, I usually cycle new ones with a betta, but I don't think that will work with saltwater, lol. I really don't know anyone near me with a saltwater tank, and for when I'm ready to stock, I have to drive almost an hour to Joplin, Missouri just to get anything saltwater related...

 

[Lorna]

well you can cycle by using a cocktail shrimp added to the tank and leave it for a week, then remove it. The shrimp will start the ammonia cycle and it should take off from there.

 

[Toam]

well you can cycle by using a cocktail shrimp added to the tank and leave it for a week, then remove it. The shrimp will start the ammonia cycle and it should take off from there.

after that, once I take it out, can I use it in a shrimp cocktail?

 

[GlaringToast]

Hahaha, only if you want to consume a decayed shrimp! You can use the shrimp method or you can feed the tank with fish food. It's all the same effect, you're letting something decay which starts the colonization of nitrifying bacteria. If you don't know anyone with a saltwater tank, you will probably want to buy a bag of Chaeto macro algae with some pods (copepods and amphipods) to add to your tank, these will be beneficial to have in your tank for starting off. I would also suggest considering may doing the aquaclear refugium mod (google it for a description), it would greatly help your tank in my opinion.

 

[AlleyKatt]

You can buy pure ammonia and dose the tank with it daily as well. By doing this you can build a nearly bulletproof bacteria colony that will be prepared for just about any bioload that you can throw at it. Just be sure to read the ingredients on the bottle if it says anything other than ammonia dont use it. I usually set up a tank, add ammo till I get a reading of around 5 ppm and then test it in a few days, dose it up to 5ppm again and repeat until no ammo reads, continue with nitrite. When it reads 0 ppm nitrite do a massive waterchange dose with ammo to like 1 ppm and test for both the next day. if both read zero mission accomplished. Takes less time of course if you seed the tank with LR and LS first but this method shortens time on the cycle for me. hope this helps.

 

[Lorna]

Yes you can use pure ammonia but you need to ensure it is pure and contains nothing except ammonia....that is why I recommend the shrimp or fish food cycle as there isn't any chance of adding something foreign.