Fast cycle time for a 20 Gallon Nano Tank,how to do it.

[snapper1]

I am buying a 20 Gallon nano Tank,for a Lion fish on layaway at my Local Fish Shop.Need advice to increase cycle Time how much live Rock.

 

[dnorton1978]

hey man,

There are chemicals and stuff you can buy, but nothing good in this hobby happens fast. My best advice is to be patient and do it the old fashion way. Just let it take its own course.

 

[mr_X]

lion in a 20 gallon? don't they get sorta big?

 

[ChrisRD]

Be sure of what species you're getting. Some stay small and are suitable for small tanks - many are not.

The quickest way to have a tank that's ready to begin stocking would be to get cured live rock locally. This basically eliminates any signficant "cycling" as the rock already has plenty of established bacteria in/on it and there will be little to no die-off to cause an ammonia spike.

Even going this route, however, I would still recommend you give the tank a week or so to settle down before you consider adding any livestock - just as a precaution. Of course ammonia/nitrite should be undetectable and other basic water parameters should be in line before you add your lion.

 

[Anonymous]

What type of lion? Dwarf I hope in a 20 gallon. Lions make a lot of waste = ammonia, so just be aware of possible spikes. The thing people tend to forget is that the different types of bacteria that fuel the reactions in our tanks take time to multiply enough to support the cycle. Even using live rock, the colonies are small, they only grow in a sorce of fuel. Once ammonia is being produced (fuel), the colonies have to have time to reproduce enough bacteria to get things moving.

It's a cascade effect, first thing the critters that convert ammonia to nitrite have to establish themselves. They begin to pump out fuel for the critters that break nitrite into nitrate which increase in response etc etc etc.

 

[shavo]

they sell stuff at my LFS that they swear by and they say it can be cycled in less than 24 hours, it is kept in the fridge, if interested i will give you the number

 

[snapper1]

Yes I would be interested shavo Thanx

 

[bookfish]

Be very careful about claims of instant cycling or less water changes. It is hard to achieve chemical stability in a saltwater environment quickly. I'd advise you to set up a cannister filter or hob power filter on an existing reef tank and occasionally swirl a little detritus toward the intake. I would do this as far in advance as possible. I'd also use some cycled substrate and as much clean, cured liverock as you can can get (30 lbs?). I'd keep carbon and a water change handy if things started looking at all cloudy. HTH