Cycling with shrimp

[0verfl0w]

Do I use the regular cocktail (gray colored)?

 

[acekjd83]

sure, but i'd use the little popcorn shrimp size... they're cheaper!

 

[jokerj]

what i did was go to the grocery store back to the seafood department and asked the guy if he had any that they were going to throw out because they were starting to go bad and he gave me about 3 or 4 large shrimp for free.

 

[fishe1]

I just bought a pound, used 4 of them and cooked the rest.

 

[0verfl0w]

I really don't have time to stop by the supermarket today. I've been thawing out some skirt steak to BBQ later though and I think I'm just gonna throw in a half pound of that. Has anyone noticed any ill effects from using raw meat instead of shrimp?

 

[ezee]

0verfl0w,
I would think that would not be a good idea. Composition and additives from beef will be significantly different from anything in the ocean. Not sure what the side effects would be but I would research VERY carefully before I do that.
Forgive me if that was a joke. I can be so gullible!
E

 

[1journeyman]

Originally Posted by 0verfl0w
I really don't have time to stop by the supermarket today. I've been thawing out some skirt steak to BBQ later though and I think I'm just gonna throw in a half pound of that. Has anyone noticed any ill effects from using raw meat instead of shrimp?
Good heavens... 1/2 a pound??!!! That might be a bit of an overkill....
Not sure what the harm in using beef would be... I'd stick with shrimp.

 

[0verfl0w]

Originally Posted by 1journeyman
Good heavens... 1/2 a pound??!!! That might be a bit of an overkill....
Not sure what the harm in using beef would be... I'd stick with shrimp.
Yeah, you're probably right...I'm gonna use a 1/4 lb

 

[jerthunter]

Hmm, how about trying tofu? Go for the vegitarian cycling method.

 

[1journeyman]

Hehe... still sounds like quite a bit... you don't want your ammonia to spike so high it burns your eyes and nose when you catch a wiff of your tank.

 

[acekjd83]

 

[robert dri]

all in fun, i'm sure.....please be careful of what people read and take to heart

 

[beth]

Don't use shrimp at all. Get a piece or two of LR and use that to cycle. Even if you are not going to have a live rock tank, a few pieces of rubble will really kick start a new system.
Remember to feed the rock, though.

 

[danedodger]

What's wrong with using a shrimp? You can certainly use liverock to cycle a tank but you run the risk of killing off more of the live parts of the rock as the ammonia goes up. Cycling with a shrimp means no killing off anything at all.

 

[1journeyman]

Beth's point is that a few pieces of live rock already have all 3 types of bacteria growing so it's quicker than waiting for the colonies to start up on their own.
I feel like a cocktail shrimp is easier though as you can just let it sit in the tank and wither away...

 

[0verfl0w]

I dropped one in last night. Later on I noticed something that kinda freaked me out. I have these tiny little bugs running around everywhere. They are all over the dead shrimp too so I'm guessing they're scavengers of some sort.

 

[0verfl0w]

Originally Posted by Beth
Don't use shrimp at all. Get a piece or two of LR and use that to cycle. Even if you are not going to have a live rock tank, a few pieces of rubble will really kick start a new system.
Remember to feed the rock, though.

Huh?