Originally Posted by
beenbag497
http:///forum/post/2589131
so how long will the tank have to cycle?
If you use the boiling method and kill both LS and LR, there is no cycling. That is why I really stressed on the importance of water quality. When I set my new tank up, I had ponies swimming in it 3 days latter.
It's a game of Russian roulette with mother nature. By eliminating all danger of harmful infestation we have also obliterated all the helpful organisms. That is why you must be prepared to purchase and "reseed"(i.e. cycling) or refill the tank amphiopods, cocepods, tigger pods, ghost shrimp, etc("clean up crew"). that have not been contaminated. I've purchased all of these from my lfs. You can also purchase them online too.
Pay close attention how much food your ponies are eating. The ponies aren't the only ones you're feeding. The pods will be extremely hungry too. Too ensure the pods get dinner I use sinking shrimp pellets. Just one pellet, replace every third day when you do water changes. Keep a close watch on your water quality. Do water changes at least every 3rd day for the first month. By the end of the month you should start to notice the water quality starting to even out. Continue adding pods and keeping up with the water quality.
In three months the dead, boiled sand bed in my tank was coming back to life,however,Pony tanks cannot depend on the "clean up crew" to keep the water quality level, IMHO. Because of the small size of the tank and limited water flow, it's hard to keep a "clean up crew" population fed. The tank will eventually cycle, but not the same as a reef tank.
