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Live cycling

Mark_C

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Officer Emeritus
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Setting up the 40b.

3 days ago:
30 pounds aragonite (clean).
15 pounds of semi-cycled rock from another tank (with diatome cycle occurring).
Large blocks of mature Marinepure from another tank (enough for a 60g).
4oz of Special Blend.

Today:
20 pounds dry rock (appeared very clean).
4oz Special Blend.

And, today poor timing and tank transfers left me with a shipment of inverts (hermits and microsnails) with nowhere to go.

So, additional today:
20 hermits.
60 microsnails.
1/4 shrimp in 4 chunks (had to feed them)

And...:
2 softball sized dense chunks of cheato loaded with pods harvested from other tank.

The thought process:
Snails work diatomes, hermits work shrimp then diatomes, shrimp needs not be removed as its been eaten, seeded rock and marinepure works misc liquid and degeneration waste, cheato absorbs light denying dino blooms, and pods eat very tiny things including crabcrap. A small water change of 2g per day will negate any major ammonia buildup (if it happens).

How this will be monitored:
I will look at the tank daily.
Maybe twice.
 
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Mark_C

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Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Bah!
As lazy as I am I have a scientific education.
I'll break out the test kits tomorrow morning and start logging this.
 
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If those marinepure blocks are matured as you said you will likely not even notice a cycle.

Micro snails? Are those the dwarf ceriths?


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Mark_C

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Officer Emeritus
NJRC Member
Moderator
Micro snails? Are those the dwarf ceriths?
zig zag perowinkles, dwarf ceriths, dwarf planaxis

If those marinepure blocks are matured as you said you will likely not even notice a cycle
You might be right. I expected something after 3+ days, blew the dust off the test kit, and got...
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0
 
zig zag perowinkles, dwarf ceriths, dwarf planaxis

Might I inquire where you got them. I'll be looking for some various snails in a month or two.
One of my favorites were always the Colonista snail. Only tim I've ever seen them was as a hitchhiker. I had tons in my old system. Them alone were a great algae CUC.

You might be right. I expected something after 3+ days, blew the dust off the test kit, and got...
Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0
You can try the pure ammonia route.
If you add and it's gone by next day your cycled

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