fishless cycle

[farmerbob]

No doubt it's the best cycling method.
How do I know when the cycle is finished? Is there some little cartoon bell that dings or something?
Also, are there any little critters I can put in that won't be detrimental to the cycle, just so it won't look like I have a rock exhibit? The LR I bought came with a few little hermit crab stowaways, they won't hurt anything, right?

 

[birdy]

You need to test your water during the cycle that is the only way to know for sure when it is finished, you should see a rise in Ammonia then a rise in Nitrite, then the Ammonia and nitrite should drop and the nitrates start to rise. When Ammonia and Nitrite are 0 and nitrates and below 40 then your cycle is finished. Do not put any livestock in your tank during they cycle they will most likely die, the stuff in your tank right now might make it through the cycle, it would be best to try to identify your hitchhikers some of them can be bad.
If you LR was shipped and has enough die off then that should be enough to start the cycle, if it is fully cured you may need to add some cocktail shrimp to the tank to kick start your cycle

 

[farmerbob]

here's a picture of the LR. I'm not sure if this is cured enough to warrant cocktail shrimp or not.
the only stowaways so far have been the little tiny hermits, are some of those guys detrimental?

 

[thomas712]

Ah farmerbob, could you please tell me what that substrate is? Is it a mix of some kind?
Thomas

 

[farmerbob]

It's 20lbs of dry AragAlive Indo-Pacific black.