Aquarium cycle without fish

[beth]

If you are going to have live rock and live sand in tank, this a great way to cycle. Last reef I set up, I put in the live rock and sand and it never really went through the typical cycle at all. I used RO/DI and used TDS meter--ammonia, nitrites, nitrates-Zero the whole time I had the tank set up. I did leave it wo fish for about 6 weeks, and I nourish the what was living in the tank with fish food a few times a week.

 

[SALTWAT3RFISH]

If you are going to have live rock and live sand in tank, this a great way to cycle. Last reef I set up, I put in the live rock and sand and it never really went through the typical cycle at all. I used RO/DI and used TDS meter--ammonia, nitrites, nitrates-Zero the whole time I had the tank set up. I did leave it wo fish for about 6 weeks, and I nourish the what was living in the tank with fish food a few times a week.

Live rock typically will experience biomass die off on some level whenever transplanted. The biomass decay often provides a source of nutrients capable of sustaining nitrifing bacteria as the system becomes established. Basically curing the rock in the system. It's definitely a usable method. How affective it is would be dependent on the water volume x rock surface area. I.e. if you add 5lbs of live rock to a 180 gallon aquarium, odds are you won't produce enough ammonia in the form of die off to establish that volume of water.