Cycle

[jcs11236]

Just a quick question. How long does it take to "fully" cycle a tank.. I will use live sand and put a piece of live rock.. i plan on letting it run for a few months but was curious in knowing how long before its completely ready to do a tank transfer.

Another question which has been asked and i keep getting different answers. do i transfer over all my old sand or will i be fine with the new live sand if i let it fully cycle? i have heard "never" to use old sand--some say use all of old sand . then i heard to just use the top 1" of old sand.. Please let me have any advise!

 

[nycdominicanreef]

NEVER ACCEPT "JUST ANY ADVICE"
1. We cant just say a cycle takes x amount of time, there are several factors. Is the rock really LIVE and the amount of rock, size of tank, etc.
2. As far as using old sand you could use some of it, this will definitely make the cycle go by faster.

3. I just finished cycling my new 75, did everything from scratch, I like fresh starts but thats just me. GENERALLY I like to cycle 3weeks to a month, some ppl have taken longer, some ppl take way less.(In reefing you will quickly find out that what works for person A. might not work for person B.

 

[jhale]

You can use the old sand if you clean it well, you don't need to use old sand for seeding bacteria, that will be on the live rock your using.

As for the cycle, a month or so, then you can add in livestock slowly. many people use a small piece of cocktail shrimp to start the cycle process.

 

[jcs11236]

i have a 10 gal but am upgrading to 28 gal jbj.. just want to do the whole set up correctly and smoothly. i have had my current tank for 5 years and dont want anything to die on me