chemicals to start a cycle

[mp32]

I was in an lfs the other day and I was talking to him about my base base rock and wanted to see how much his live rock costs when I am ready to buy some. Well he showed me a product he had, and for the life of me I can not remember the name, I think it was jump start, or kick start, or something like that. He said it smelled really bad but worked very well. Anyway he told me that you can use that and there was something else he showed me that would also start the purple growth you see on the live rock. He told me that I could use all the dead base rock I have, and not have to buy any live rock and this would cycle the tank and start growth on the rock. I have not seen anybody talk about using stuff like this but i was wondering if anyone has heard of, or used stuff like this, and if it is worth it

. Thanks in advance!

 

[chuckcac]

i read an experiment once where someone used 3 items to cycle 3 diffrent tanks and tested the results.
1. peeled shrimp
2. household ammonia
3. urine...... thats right, urine.
the goal is to add ammonia to start the cycle. However you do it.... you will start a cycle.
it just depends, do you want to spend $20 on a name-brand fancy-shmancy chemical product
or .50 on a piece of raw shrim from the grocery store....
as far as LR vs Base Rock..... i have 75 lbs of base rock that imade myself ... and i added 2lbs of really swweeeet premium live rock... 3 months later... i have purple coaline algae growing all over the base rock.....

as far as jump-starting anything.... my advice to everyone about that is....
'anything that happens too quickly in saltwater is Baaaaad'
patience is KEY, and a good way to jump-start your tank is to practice patience......

Good Luck - welcome to the boards

 

[fatcat]

I wouldn't use chemicals to cycle a tank. Just buy the base rock then buy a few lbs of live rock and it should "seed" the base. I may be wrong.
PS: Funniest avatar EVER.....LOL

 

[mp32]

Thanks for the advice, I know usually all an lfs wants to do is make money, thats why I like this boards I can get some honest answers

.

 

[mp32]

thanks for the compliment

I saw it and had to use it!

 

[perfectdark]

I believe the product isnt an amonia type substance but its a bacteria that is introduced in a fairly large quantity. What is expected to happen is, the die off from your LR will feed the bacteria thus jump starting your cycle. Unfortunatly the result is either too much die off, not enough bacteria, resulting in amonia spikes. Or not enough die off and the bacteria not surviving again potentially causing a spike. The other thing that is not often mentioned is the type of bacteria in these types of products. As there are 2 different types of bacteria that cycle our tanks. One that converts amonia to nitrites and an other type that converts nitrites to nitrates. If both arent supplied your not really jump starting anything IMO.
A peeled shrimp tail is all that is needed, or nothing at all. Your tank will start its cycle from the normal die off from your LR.

 

[sk8shorty01]

I agree with everyone above. Any chemicals that you see in a store that seem to be "miracles in a bottle" are usually not going to help all that much. It might save you some time, but it could also cost you time in the long run. The objective is to create an ecosystem that is self-supporting, therefore, the least amount of additives you can get away with will always be the best. This of course is just my opinion, but the quote I try to use in my own head when I am debating getting something is "doing things quickly always takes longer". Just remember that and you will be fine. Good luck with your tank and welcome to the salt water obsession!

 

[chuckcac]

all good advice...

what, no one wants to pee in their tank to cycle it? J/K

 

[mp32]

Originally Posted by chuckcac
http:///forum/post/2516089
all good advice...

what, no one wants to pee in their tank to cycle it? J/K

Well it would be a little embarrassing having to explain the yellow color of your tank!

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by sk8shorty01
http:///forum/post/2516084
The objective is to create an ecosystem that is self-supporting.

Actually this is a common misconception while we think this is what are fish tanks are, they are not. We need to look at them more as land fills, our objective is to keep the toxins from elevating to harmful levels. This was stated by Fenner... if I remember to get it I will get the word for word statment he made. I said to myself.. wow, that makes a lot of sense but never thought of it that way till now.