This is THE video. If this had been out when I started my first tank just over a year ago, I possibly could have avoided a 6-month battle with green hair algae and a partial re-boot of my tank. Funny how after I moved everything to a different tank and let my original tank sit fallow for about 3 months, it has been much more stable since!
Iv'e been reefing for over 10ys and never herd it put so intelligently. Following what works with tried and true methods at this point in the hobby for me is what makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to let others take advantage of skipping over some of the horrible frustrating things that happen with an unstable aquarium. Some of these things are going to occur no matter but they wont define the experience and possibly drive ppl away.
FishOfHex Aquatics which bacteria starter did you use? Did you put the starter in both the bin outside the tank and also when you put the rocks in the tank?
Can I cure the rocks in a container just with fresh water or does it have to be with salt water? And do I need heater and pump for flow as well to do this? And do I need to add bacteria booster and change water regularly?
Being brand new. I thank you thank you thank you! For this video and your insight. I want to do things properly and get it right. Now I know more. And have a timeline to at least know when to start adding coral. My fingers and toes are crossed that I can be a lucky winner this time. Would help out alot in getting started thank you again for all you guys do. I appreciate it.Hope you're all having an Awsome day! 😎✌
Totally agree. The first 3-4 months with dry rock is a complete nightmare. LOL. So much easier to keep coral out of the system and deal with all the issues until they're resolved. NO3 and PO4 elevate in the beginning and then after 3-4 months (depending on the rock used) they will start to decline and eventually stabilize. I won't even waste my time and money testing a new system in the first few months (well.. testing daily that is), because I already know what the results will be. I've been there done that and wasted 3 packs have Hanna URL regents and a Nyos NO3 test kit for basically nothing. Test kits are expensive! At least I learned a lot during that process. If you're a new reefer and wanna test just to get a reference point here and there...of course- do it, but i'd avoid it unless you have the money to waste. It's really just pointless unless you just want to learn what the tank is doing for yourself in the beginning stages. Testing weekly or EOW is plenty. Get the major elements at the correct levels and wait it out. I couldn't agree with Ryan and WWC more. For some newer reefers this may feel like a long time, but after the wait is over and you've conquered all the issues....you'll thank these guys later. Nothing worse than seeing SPS RTN in a young tank that's not able to support them. Thanks BRS and WWC for making these awesome videos! Strong work!
Love ur channel been binge watching heaps as I’m about to start my reef tank Tetris it once and failed Been scared since then. So gonna give it a go agin thanks for the inspiration guys 👌
So basically I have to decide what tank I eventually want, get the rock figured out, grab a bucket, some salt, a heater and a shrimp/ammonia source. Throw it all in and close the lid for two months. Sorry it's late, so correct me if I missed something. I'll have to watch the video again soon. But this is so useful!
@@BRStv I'm not sure how long it will be before I get the tank I want, is there a limit to how long I do the bucket cycle/maturing in the bucket? Or a point where it becomes impractical? PS: love what you do and keep them coming. If you ship to the UK I would gladly buy from you to support the education you provide.
I think said it right those of us who've had tanks simply have the mentality of "Better to get it right than get it done fast". Besides months cycling you can use to actually quarantine everything that goes into your tank including corals and fish, so you can have growout, and ugly quarantine tank isn't a big deal because at the end of it you'll probably empty it.
Most Reefers for sure could recall what they have faced in first 3-5 months of their tank setup and how well their tanks slowly stabilised and thrived after this hard phase. BRS and WWC has put this key aspect so crisp and clear to the industry to make Reefing easy if just followed this basics when setting up a new tank.. if you are not patient id say “Do Reefing” sure you will learn to be. HAPPY Reefing
My 1st tank has been going for 5 years it's a 16 gallon bio cube had a little bit of problems with algae here and there But nothing major. Finally grew out of that tank and upgrading to a 100 gallon I'm gonna follow this to a T!!!
I like the 4 month idea. Still, there are some things I won't add before a year or 18 months. Its amazing to see a large blue clam in perfect health become a nude and shiny shell in a few days. When it was really ready, the clams grew and thrived and the Deresa became far too big in three years to keep.
Coral doesn't like new tanks because new tanks always have high phosphate from everything breaking down and becoming dissolved in the water column, but not getting eaten up by bacteria and algae. If you can manage the phosphate and all the other parameters then it doesnt matter how old the tank is, I've seen it done plenty of times. If you are just testing the basics and leaving out the important stuff like phosphate and magnesium then its no wonder why you cant keep corals. Anyways, I always hear about people adding bacteria and pods, but I rarely hear people talking about adding phytoplankton. You want something that is going to eat up the crap in the water and then act as food for your new corals? Phytoplankton. If you run a skimmer to early you will just pull it all out and it will never get established. Keep the white lights on 18 hours a day until the water starts turning green with it before you bother adding the coral and skimming. Ocean water is rarely crystal clear, even in the most beautiful reefs in the world, there is a lot of phytoplankton floating around making the water a little cloudy over longer distances, so you may want to limit running the skimmer to just part of the day to help keep the water clear enough to see through, but not devoid of phyto. Phosphate and Nitrate are nutrients for phytoplankton, let them eat it up and become food for your tank instead of trying to throw the water out or bind it up chemically.
I've been cycling for 5 days now and have coraline growing everywhere already, bacteria booster and a nice chunk of live rock with a sand bottom. And the old rocks came from an older tank a few years back.
I typically prefer to wait approximately a year before adding SPS Coral. I have not had much luck with anything under that but anything added after that one your point seems to flourish
Great info as usual! I'm actually starting up my new 130.4 waterbox tank! Bare bottom, sps dominate , dr.tims one and only , also for the coralline algea I'm trying purple & pink helix from Ark Reef! I also used reef brite new live rock enhance to clean up the pores of the rock since it was out of my 220 tank, and dried out while I was recapping it with Marco mortar! Just did a 25 gal. Water change and I'm adding my coralline algea tonight after water clears turning off my return pump so the spores can settle on my rock and not get filtered out! I'm taking my time and trying to do it right , since I have been doing this for 20 some years and have made all the mistakes before! Wish me luck!!
Single dose of bacteria will be enough, unless you are using placebo product. Nitrogen cycle after dosing is complete in 8-14 days, unless, again, you are using placebo in a bottle.
Brilliant video and I will follow these instructions with my new custom and 200kg of dry rock 4 months is nothing to make sure you have and live stock have a good chance .
Excellent information! It's great having all this info in one place.Also, reassuring that the plan I have laid out for the new tank pretty much follows this plan. I guess I did learn something from all the reading/watching I have been doing...lol! :)
fwiw I was just at the maritime aquarium in Norwalk CT, and took a peek behind the door into thier maintenance area where I saw they use flourish stability for all thier systems. If its good enough for their vast variety of systems and creatures it should be good enough for a home aquarium.
I am right at the very beginning of cycling My 2nd tank but really my 1st real tank because it's the 1st one I've had with a sumpStill have to get rock in a bunch of other stuff for it but I think it'll definitely be worth it
I wish to ask @BRStv : On doing this 4 month, no light cycle, when is the right time to add Copepods?, and how the introduction of algae liquid food to feed them would affect post cycle?…. Lastly, how often would you add additional bacteria? Thank you!!! 🙏🏻🙂
Copepods can be added whenever your ammonia cycle is complete. In other words, you should have zero ammonia and zero nitrites. You'll likely have a low amount of nitrates, but ideally under 10 ppm. You can add a bit of live phyto if you'd like, but don't go overboard. Additional beneficial bacteria can be added via live rock or a bottled source like Dr. Tim's One and Only or Microbacter7
I see a lot of emphasis on adding the rock day one to a container to allow it to begin curing/cycling. My reef scape is something that I plan on spending a ton of time to get just right on my future build gluing and cementing my aquascape together. My question is how long would you say you have to work with the rock out of the water before it completely defeats the purpose of curing/cycling the rock outside of the tank?
Just saw this video... great info... but what about if you are moving from a 65 gallon to an 160 gallon tank. Should be better to do this cycle first and then transfer corals from the 65 gallon? There is a full line of corals to be transfer #lps, #zoas, #sps, etc. Should I put all the rock from that tank to the new one and mix it with dry? I'm not sure that's a good idea because it could start another cycle. Right? Thanks
Ok quick question, you have rock "cooking"/cycling in a bin for many months. So presumably there's a level of bacterial colony everywhere. So the $64 question is how long do you have to work with that rock OUT of water if you want to use something like eMarco type solutions to create rock structures?
@ 6:11 I finally got the answer to the question I asked back in Ep 1 >/ < of this series. :) Thanks..... There is just no way I could have two tanks setup in my dinning-room. Not for four months. :P Even though some of the information is a great recap for me. Some of the thought and ideas are refreshing and has given me a new path or approach if you will for my new tank. I'm still stumped on getting coalline algae to grow on dead rock with no light. I can totally understand the thought process as using it as a healthy indicator to help sustain coral life. But how can those of us curing /cycling our dry rock and bio-media in separate containers from what will be our display tanks?
How do u know when the tank is ready besides the timeline? Anything we can test for to onow the tank is coral ready? Also what if we take marinepure that's cycled from another tank and even some water?
A little off topic but do you have an opinion on adding bacteria to a cycled tank? For instance a 1 year old tank? I hear people add when doing water changes or quarterly ?
Ryan touches on this around the 13:40 minute mark of the video, but generally speaking, snails and hermits can go in the tank rather quickly. What you're mainly looking for is no ammonia or nitrites and lower levels of nitrates. In other words, that the tank has completed the nitrogen cycle.
I’m about to start cycling my Marco Dry Rock, I’ve got my brute full of newly made RODI using my BRS 5 Stage, I’m going to mix my Red Sea blue bucket salt tomorrow and get my rocks rinsed and ready. I’ve been planning to use Dr Tim’s one and only, would you say using One and only and Microbacter7 together would be more beneficial to add different types of bacteria or would you say they’ve got the same bacteria types in them?
Hi Ryan. Great video, good job. I have a question on ammonia quantities to feed the bacteria. I am cycling a 250 gallon reef tank currently and added 2 raw shrimp as suggested. Due to the size of the tank do you think ammonium chloride ( e.g.Dr Tim's) should be added at the outset whilst waiting for the Shrimp to breakdown? Just the first dose then let the shrimp kick in. I tested day 1 and day 2 and ammonia is zero. My thoughts are for larger tanks more ammonia is required otherwise the bacteria may not have enough of a food source. Good to get your thoughts
Guys, i am in the process of setting up a 55g cube reef, i think i will go with 5-10% rock, how much of that you think it must be live rock? Also, is there a list, written i mean, for the steps that you give on this great video??? Thank you.
My tank is running for like 2 months and zero live stock, all dry white rock and caribsea sand. I`m waiting on some tests to come, should be here next week, ammonia and nitrites. I did dosed Dr Tim's and Fritz 9. The freshwater nitrite test from sera shows 1 ppm of nitrite which sucks. I did add ammonnia like 2 days ago (3 ppm), but after all this time I didn't expect to have nitrite maybe I took too long to add ammonia. I really want to get something in here, like copepods and coraline algae, but dosing ammonia doesn't allow me to add those for now. And parameter are off like salinity is lower (1020) for the bacteria, pH at 7.7, temp around 77, orp 240 to 350. Very anxious to add something.
When you add your bacteria boosters throughout the three different stages of the cycle are you adding full bottles of those different brands at each of those stages?
While "overdosing" bacteria isn't the end of the world, we would suggest following the manufacturer's recommended dosing instructions. For example, products like Dr. Tim's one and only will come in multiple sizes and each bottle will list what water volume it's suggested for.
If you're starting with all dry rock, Dr. Tim's method is something to strongly consider. Before living organisms are added, you'll need to get the temperature back down into normal ranges.
Hi brs I don’t have Facebook or use it so I was wondering if you could answer a question for me please i have a 6 gallon fluval edge running for about a year now with a 5 1/2 gallon sump I’m looking to switch to a 15 gallon with the same sump, Rock, and the rest of my set up because the 6 gallon edge tank is too hard to get into so my question is will I see a cycle in the tank going from a 6gallon to a 15 gallon display thanks a lot love the channel
We generally suggest getting into your maintenance rhythm right off the bat, so if you plan to do weekly 15% water changes, we'd start that very early on. Probably not 100% necessary, but there is something to be said about getting into good habits from the beginning.
Usually not when we're establishing the nitrogen cycle (when ammonia is being converted to nitrites and nitrates). But if you're planning to do the full 4 month cycle laid out in this video, it's a good idea to start your regular water change schedule sooner rather than later. If only to establish good habits.
Thanks for the videos! Don't know what we would have done without you guys. So we have a tank upgrade that we are doing (and starting with dry rock and sand) from scratch, but we have a GSP on a rock in our old tank that we want to bring to the new one. We have the old tank still running while we set up this new tank, but just wondering when in the cycle to add that rock (with the GSP on it) to the new tank? In this video you said to add all the rock in the beginning, but since it's not dry, should we add it as an island later?
Corals don't react to ammonia like fish do, so as long as you plan on turning the lights on, you can add them relatively quickly if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, if you'd rather follow the advice laid out in this video, wait a few months to let the new tank stabilize and then add the GSP rock as an island.
Is it a good idea to start doing water changes as soon as possible if I’m cycling dry rocks in a brute container? Thanks guys! Don’t know where else I would go if not for your great videos.
My new tank about 3 months old is starting to develop some brown algae I believe diatom. 50 gallon display with 10 gallon sump. I have a coral beauty, Damsel and two clowns and one torch coral frag only cost me $30 bucks. Should I just leave the lights off and sacrifice my torch coral or keep the lights on and be even more diligent with water changes?
I think the biggest takeaway here is the introduction of a clean up crew and utilitarian fish that can help to stave off issues like this from the outset. Personally, I would look into developing your maintenance rhythm to a point where you can keep algae at bay along with increasing the types of CUC that can also help feed on that algae, until it becomes manageable.
Great vid. Easy to follow step by step. Awesome. Thanks. One detail question with the rock. I am starting a tank with rock currently in a bucket cycling. First question, when I am ready to move the rock to the tank from the bucket, how long can the rock be out in the air while I am scraping? It’s a 350 gallon tank and can’t scape in 20 minute with 200lbs of rock. Second question is, once I remove the rock from the bucket, get it scraped, do I put the cycled water in the buckets in the tank or use all net new salt water? Thanks again for all these videos. They are organizing my thought process and allowing/forcing me to take my time with this. 🍻
Can I cycle the rocks in a container just with fresh water or does it have to be with salt water? And do I need heater and pump for flow as well to do this? Cheers
You can start water changes right away. We're still experimenting, but based on preliminary results, I would suggest waiting until towards the end of this 4 month time period to turn the UV sterilizer on.
Hi all, a question that's probably silly but is puzzling me as a new reefer doing a bunch of research. I've watched the WWC/BRS hybrid method series (especially Ep5 and Ep12) and I'm somewhat puzzled by adding CUC at 1 month into the cycle before adding fish at 2.5-3 months into the 4 month cycle. The CUC have no algae or fish waste to eat, so what is the purpose of adding them in? If the intent is to mature the tank before adding fish and corals for stability purposes, then how does adding the CUC do that? And what do you feed them to keep them alive and striving without mortality to achieve the purpose of having them in there in the first place. Thanks in advance
To put it in Josh's words, " inverts can go in rather fast, generally as long as there are lower levels of nitrates and non-existent levels of nitrite. This also gives us a good reason to throw some food in for these critters, to help expedite the process as well." My suggestion would be to use things like nori rubber banded to a rock. This gives your early inverts a great food source to snack on. You could also feed small amount of meaty foods, but be sure to monitor nitrates and phosphates to make sure you're not overdoing it.
@@BRStv Thanks a lot guys, much appreciate the response. It's always good to know the reason why we do certain things, as I think it helps in the long run.
I have 2 year old live rock from an existing 120gal reef tank. I'm basically doing a rock and water transfer to a 112 gal system. Would it be recommended to follow the 4 month waiting period before proceeding the addition of sps? Many thanks -Alan
Following this method still one question. By adding the shrimp i have a massive bacterial bloom. Should i take out the shrimp or is this just a stage to go true? Love the videos btw..
I've heard it mentioned numerous times, while researching saltwater aquariums, that you can't sift wet sand and I'd like to correct that statement. It's quite possible to sift wet sand. There's even a machine designed specifically for sifting wet sand. The patent number is US1430443A if anyone would like to look it up for themselves and here's a link for those curious but too lazy to look it up lol patents.google.com/patent/US1430443
Why do stony coral not thrive in new tanks? Here's my theory--insufficient dissolved organic compounds. There is a tendency to be very conservative with feeding in a new tank to help curtail the bloom of nuisance algae. With my own tank, I transferred relatively easy sps coral from an established tank. Eventually these otherwise thriving coral started to look sickly and I suffered a lot of loss within the first year. Then I started feeding the fish quite liberally. Coral started to turn around. Color improved and growth took off. Of course, this is just anecdotal data, but I think I may be on to something.
We find it is best to give it a few months to make sure the parameters are stable. Anemones can pollute the water quite a bit if they die, so if the tank is not stable it will increase the chances of having a bigger problem later.
Just set up my first tank after 12 years our of the game. I should've/would've waited four months. Used dry rock and completely overlooked the difference between live and dry rock 🤦🏻
algae blennies are probably the most common choice. Otherwise, non-fish options like pincushion or blue tuxedo urchins work great too! Just don't add them too quickly as they'll starve easily without a good food source.
@@BRStv The cycling videos seem to base the 4 month method on a sps dominated tank, is there a recommendation for a more beginner coral tank of soft and possibly lps in regards to cycling duration? Thanks again for your advice. Much appreciated and helping a lot to grasp good concepts.
@@BRStv Thanks ! I'd hate to bring in ick or something from the yellow tang . How would you cycle a quarantine tank for the fish while your cycling the main tank ?
IMO people tend to go _way_ overboard on cleanup crew, then they starve to death, die, and decay in the tank. A lot of the old stocking rules of thumb are extremely excessive.
I CAN SEE THIS BEING HELPFUL TO A ALL NEW TANK, BUT ANYTHING I HAVE SET UP HAS BEEN WITH SOME LIVE ROCK FROM ANOTHER SYSTEM. NEVER HAD ANY KIND OF CYCLE?
Would I have the same success if I dosed Dr. Timm's ammonium chloride for the tanks volume instead of dropping in shrimp? And if I'm doing a large system, is there any role of thumb for how many shrimp to add?
Probably best to consider coralline to be like corals themselves where, if a coral will not survive it is highly likely that coralline will also struggle.
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This is THE video. If this had been out when I started my first tank just over a year ago, I possibly could have avoided a 6-month battle with green hair algae and a partial re-boot of my tank. Funny how after I moved everything to a different tank and let my original tank sit fallow for about 3 months, it has been much more stable since!
I think the best part of any of these videos is the cut scenes to the original BRS TV videos that got me hooked into this hobby in the first place.
Iv'e been reefing for over 10ys and never herd it put so intelligently. Following what works with tried and true methods at this point in the hobby for me is what makes sense. Thanks for taking the time to let others take advantage of skipping over some of the horrible frustrating things that happen with an unstable aquarium. Some of these things are going to occur no matter but they wont define the experience and possibly drive ppl away.
Thank you for all the help.2 and a half years in and loving the hobby.
I cure rock for three months with 50% water changes every two weeks before adding it to a new system. Never had algae or issues after doing so.
FishOfHex Aquatics which bacteria starter did you use? Did you put the starter in both the bin outside the tank and also when you put the rocks in the tank?
Can I cure the rocks in a container just with fresh water or does it have to be with salt water? And do I need heater and pump for flow as well to do this? And do I need to add bacteria booster and change water regularly?
but YOLO?
Being brand new. I thank you thank you thank you! For this video and your insight. I want to do things properly and get it right. Now I know more. And have a timeline to at least know when to start adding coral. My fingers and toes are crossed that I can be a lucky winner this time. Would help out alot in getting started thank you again for all you guys do. I appreciate it.Hope you're all having an Awsome day! 😎✌
Totally agree. The first 3-4 months with dry rock is a complete nightmare. LOL. So much easier to keep coral out of the system and deal with all the issues until they're resolved. NO3 and PO4 elevate in the beginning and then after 3-4 months (depending on the rock used) they will start to decline and eventually stabilize. I won't even waste my time and money testing a new system in the first few months (well.. testing daily that is), because I already know what the results will be. I've been there done that and wasted 3 packs have Hanna URL regents and a Nyos NO3 test kit for basically nothing. Test kits are expensive! At least I learned a lot during that process. If you're a new reefer and wanna test just to get a reference point here and there...of course- do it, but i'd avoid it unless you have the money to waste. It's really just pointless unless you just want to learn what the tank is doing for yourself in the beginning stages. Testing weekly or EOW is plenty. Get the major elements at the correct levels and wait it out. I couldn't agree with Ryan and WWC more. For some newer reefers this may feel like a long time, but after the wait is over and you've conquered all the issues....you'll thank these guys later. Nothing worse than seeing SPS RTN in a young tank that's not able to support them. Thanks BRS and WWC for making these awesome videos! Strong work!
Love ur channel been binge watching heaps as I’m about to start my reef tank
Tetris it once and failed
Been scared since then. So gonna give it a go agin thanks for the inspiration guys 👌
4 months is a minimum of cycle. Take your time with this hobby. Good job BRS! Great video.
So basically I have to decide what tank I eventually want, get the rock figured out, grab a bucket, some salt, a heater and a shrimp/ammonia source. Throw it all in and close the lid for two months. Sorry it's late, so correct me if I missed something. I'll have to watch the video again soon. But this is so useful!
@@BRStv I'm not sure how long it will be before I get the tank I want, is there a limit to how long I do the bucket cycle/maturing in the bucket? Or a point where it becomes impractical? PS: love what you do and keep them coming. If you ship to the UK I would gladly buy from you to support the education you provide.
I think said it right those of us who've had tanks simply have the mentality of "Better to get it right than get it done fast". Besides months cycling you can use to actually quarantine everything that goes into your tank including corals and fish, so you can have growout, and ugly quarantine tank isn't a big deal because at the end of it you'll probably empty it.
Most Reefers for sure could recall what they have faced in first 3-5 months of their tank setup and how well their tanks slowly stabilised and thrived after this hard phase. BRS and WWC has put this key aspect so crisp and clear to the industry to make Reefing easy if just followed this basics when setting up a new tank.. if you are not patient id say “Do Reefing” sure you will learn to be.
HAPPY Reefing
Definitely will be following the BRS/WWC method when I set up my next reef
My 1st tank has been going for 5 years it's a 16 gallon bio cube had a little bit of problems with algae here and there But nothing major. Finally grew out of that tank and upgrading to a 100 gallon I'm gonna follow this to a T!!!
Glad I found this video! 5 days in to my first tank. Filtration in, bacteria in, food in... now wait
I like the 4 month idea. Still, there are some things I won't add before a year or 18 months. Its amazing to see a large blue clam in perfect health become a nude and shiny shell in a few days. When it was really ready, the clams grew and thrived and the Deresa became far too big in three years to keep.
Coral doesn't like new tanks because new tanks always have high phosphate from everything breaking down and becoming dissolved in the water column, but not getting eaten up by bacteria and algae. If you can manage the phosphate and all the other parameters then it doesnt matter how old the tank is, I've seen it done plenty of times. If you are just testing the basics and leaving out the important stuff like phosphate and magnesium then its no wonder why you cant keep corals. Anyways, I always hear about people adding bacteria and pods, but I rarely hear people talking about adding phytoplankton. You want something that is going to eat up the crap in the water and then act as food for your new corals? Phytoplankton. If you run a skimmer to early you will just pull it all out and it will never get established. Keep the white lights on 18 hours a day until the water starts turning green with it before you bother adding the coral and skimming. Ocean water is rarely crystal clear, even in the most beautiful reefs in the world, there is a lot of phytoplankton floating around making the water a little cloudy over longer distances, so you may want to limit running the skimmer to just part of the day to help keep the water clear enough to see through, but not devoid of phyto. Phosphate and Nitrate are nutrients for phytoplankton, let them eat it up and become food for your tank instead of trying to throw the water out or bind it up chemically.
Logical
I find if when your tank has an ugly phase sometimes if i ignore it and keep regular water changes it goes away in about a month.
I've been cycling for 5 days now and have coraline growing everywhere already, bacteria booster and a nice chunk of live rock with a sand bottom. And the old rocks came from an older tank a few years back.
I typically prefer to wait approximately a year before adding SPS Coral. I have not had much luck with anything under that but anything added after that one your point seems to flourish
I'm going to start my next cycle with dr. Tims
Great info as usual! I'm actually starting up my new 130.4 waterbox tank! Bare bottom, sps dominate , dr.tims one and only , also for the coralline algea I'm trying purple & pink helix from Ark Reef! I also used reef brite new live rock enhance to clean up the pores of the rock since it was out of my 220 tank, and dried out while I was recapping it with Marco mortar! Just did a 25 gal. Water change and I'm adding my coralline algea tonight after water clears turning off my return pump so the spores can settle on my rock and not get filtered out! I'm taking my time and trying to do it right , since I have been doing this for 20 some years and have made all the mistakes before! Wish me luck!!
Thanks for the series, becoming a nice guideline for my hobby
Greetings from Belgium
Single dose of bacteria will be enough, unless you are using placebo product. Nitrogen cycle after dosing is complete in 8-14 days, unless, again, you are using placebo in a bottle.
I’m beginning my cycle today; looking forward to the 3 month completion status 🧐
How did it go😅
Brilliant video and I will follow these instructions with my new custom and 200kg of dry rock 4 months is nothing to make sure you have and live stock have a good chance .
4 mounts is to long but 3 3 is where i can come to terms. i mean i can qt my fish the whole time so its not like i wont get to go shopping lol
Excellent information! It's great having all this info in one place.Also, reassuring that the plan I have laid out for the new tank pretty much follows this plan. I guess I did learn something from all the reading/watching I have been doing...lol! :)
Fantastic video as always!
I seem to recall you bringing in a pest when adding coralline algae to the BRS 160 . How do you propose not to repeat that ?
Great, i wish we had some info about bacteria, which one is good, but for now... thrusting the company.
fwiw I was just at the maritime aquarium in Norwalk CT, and took a peek behind the door into thier maintenance area where I saw they use flourish stability for all thier systems. If its good enough for their vast variety of systems and creatures it should be good enough for a home aquarium.
@@ClaytonMantell That is actually awesome, it just rare to have information on actual bacteria and how they process.
I am right at the very beginning of cycling My 2nd tank but really my 1st real tank because it's the 1st one I've had with a sumpStill have to get rock in a bunch of other stuff for it but I think it'll definitely be worth it
I wish to ask @BRStv : On doing this 4 month, no light cycle, when is the right time to add Copepods?, and how the introduction of algae liquid food to feed them would affect post cycle?…. Lastly, how often would you add additional bacteria?
Thank you!!! 🙏🏻🙂
Copepods can be added whenever your ammonia cycle is complete. In other words, you should have zero ammonia and zero nitrites. You'll likely have a low amount of nitrates, but ideally under 10 ppm.
You can add a bit of live phyto if you'd like, but don't go overboard. Additional beneficial bacteria can be added via live rock or a bottled source like Dr. Tim's One and Only or Microbacter7
At what point in the cycle do we add a clean up crew?
Well done
At what point during the 4 month cycle would you suggest adding some clean up crew to the tank?
@@BRStv Thank you!
I see a lot of emphasis on adding the rock day one to a container to allow it to begin curing/cycling. My reef scape is something that I plan on spending a ton of time to get just right on my future build gluing and cementing my aquascape together. My question is how long would you say you have to work with the rock out of the water before it completely defeats the purpose of curing/cycling the rock outside of the tank?
Just saw this video... great info... but what about if you are moving from a 65 gallon to an 160 gallon tank. Should be better to do this cycle first and then transfer corals from the 65 gallon? There is a full line of corals to be transfer #lps, #zoas, #sps, etc. Should I put all the rock from that tank to the new one and mix it with dry? I'm not sure that's a good idea because it could start another cycle. Right? Thanks
Ok quick question, you have rock "cooking"/cycling in a bin for many months. So presumably there's a level of bacterial colony everywhere. So the $64 question is how long do you have to work with that rock OUT of water if you want to use something like eMarco type solutions to create rock structures?
@ 6:11 I finally got the answer to the question I asked back in Ep 1 >/ < of this series. :) Thanks..... There is just no way I could have two tanks setup in my dinning-room. Not for four months. :P Even though some of the information is a great recap for me. Some of the thought and ideas are refreshing and has given me a new path or approach if you will for my new tank.
I'm still stumped on getting coalline algae to grow on dead rock with no light. I can totally understand the thought process as using it as a healthy indicator to help sustain coral life. But how can those of us curing /cycling our dry rock and bio-media in separate containers from what will be our display tanks?
How do u know when the tank is ready besides the timeline? Anything we can test for to onow the tank is coral ready? Also what if we take marinepure that's cycled from another tank and even some water?
A little off topic but do you have an opinion on adding bacteria to a cycled tank? For instance a 1 year old tank? I hear people add when doing water changes or quarterly ?
When do you suggest adding the CUC in the 4 month process? After the shrimp has been consumed by the bacteria and the first fish are added in?
Ryan touches on this around the 13:40 minute mark of the video, but generally speaking, snails and hermits can go in the tank rather quickly. What you're mainly looking for is no ammonia or nitrites and lower levels of nitrates. In other words, that the tank has completed the nitrogen cycle.
I’m about to start cycling my Marco Dry Rock, I’ve got my brute full of newly made RODI using my BRS 5 Stage, I’m going to mix my Red Sea blue bucket salt tomorrow and get my rocks rinsed and ready. I’ve been planning to use Dr Tim’s one and only, would you say using One and only and Microbacter7 together would be more beneficial to add different types of bacteria or would you say they’ve got the same bacteria types in them?
I did a cold water tank once (13° C / 55° F) that took over 6 months to cycle.
Who'da'thunk refrigeration would slow bacterial growth, eh? :-p
Hi Ryan. Great video, good job. I have a question on ammonia quantities to feed the bacteria. I am cycling a 250 gallon reef tank currently and added 2 raw shrimp as suggested. Due to the size of the tank do you think ammonium chloride ( e.g.Dr Tim's) should be added at the outset whilst waiting for the Shrimp to breakdown? Just the first dose then let the shrimp kick in. I tested day 1 and day 2 and ammonia is zero. My thoughts are for larger tanks more ammonia is required otherwise the bacteria may not have enough of a food source. Good to get your thoughts
BRS thank you for the video. Can you speak a little bit more about when in this process to activate my refugium? Thanks big!
Guys, i am in the process of setting up a 55g cube reef, i think i will go with 5-10% rock, how much of that you think it must be live rock?
Also, is there a list, written i mean, for the steps that you give on this great video??? Thank you.
My tank is running for like 2 months and zero live stock, all dry white rock and caribsea sand. I`m waiting on some tests to come, should be here next week, ammonia and nitrites. I did dosed Dr Tim's and Fritz 9. The freshwater nitrite test from sera shows 1 ppm of nitrite which sucks. I did add ammonnia like 2 days ago (3 ppm), but after all this time I didn't expect to have nitrite maybe I took too long to add ammonia. I really want to get something in here, like copepods and coraline algae, but dosing ammonia doesn't allow me to add those for now. And parameter are off like salinity is lower (1020) for the bacteria, pH at 7.7, temp around 77, orp 240 to 350.
Very anxious to add something.
What water parameters should I be checking during the 4 months?
When do you turn on the lights fully?
At the 4 months mark?
BulkReefSupplyCom thank you
BulkReefSupplyCom thank you
When you add your bacteria boosters throughout the three different stages of the cycle are you adding full bottles of those different brands at each of those stages?
While "overdosing" bacteria isn't the end of the world, we would suggest following the manufacturer's recommended dosing instructions. For example, products like Dr. Tim's one and only will come in multiple sizes and each bottle will list what water volume it's suggested for.
OK late to the show. Should I keep a high aquarium temp as recommend by Dr Tim with this hybrid cycle?
If you're starting with all dry rock, Dr. Tim's method is something to strongly consider. Before living organisms are added, you'll need to get the temperature back down into normal ranges.
Hi brs I don’t have Facebook or use it so I was wondering if you could answer a question for me please i have a 6 gallon fluval edge running for about a year now with a 5 1/2 gallon sump I’m looking to switch to a 15 gallon with the same sump, Rock, and the rest of my set up because the 6 gallon edge tank is too hard to get into so my question is will I see a cycle in the tank going from a 6gallon to a 15 gallon display thanks a lot love the channel
What about coming across/having a outbreak of Calcareous sponges, how do you tackle and get rid of them?
Many thanks
Robin
BulkReefSupplyCom will drying out the rock kill the sponges?
Hi thanks for the great video.
When i need to start water change in cycling proses and How often?
We generally suggest getting into your maintenance rhythm right off the bat, so if you plan to do weekly 15% water changes, we'd start that very early on. Probably not 100% necessary, but there is something to be said about getting into good habits from the beginning.
Do you water change during a tank cycle or no?
Usually not when we're establishing the nitrogen cycle (when ammonia is being converted to nitrites and nitrates). But if you're planning to do the full 4 month cycle laid out in this video, it's a good idea to start your regular water change schedule sooner rather than later. If only to establish good habits.
@@BRStv Yea I'm planning to do a 4 month cycle. In that case, how frequent should I change and how much should I change?
Thanks for the videos! Don't know what we would have done without you guys. So we have a tank upgrade that we are doing (and starting with dry rock and sand) from scratch, but we have a GSP on a rock in our old tank that we want to bring to the new one. We have the old tank still running while we set up this new tank, but just wondering when in the cycle to add that rock (with the GSP on it) to the new tank? In this video you said to add all the rock in the beginning, but since it's not dry, should we add it as an island later?
Corals don't react to ammonia like fish do, so as long as you plan on turning the lights on, you can add them relatively quickly if absolutely necessary. Otherwise, if you'd rather follow the advice laid out in this video, wait a few months to let the new tank stabilize and then add the GSP rock as an island.
I am so excited about this!
Thanks for the great info, what tank is this in the video?
I got live barnacles on my harmit crab...??
Is it good or bad..???
Is it a good idea to start doing water changes as soon as possible if I’m cycling dry rocks in a brute container? Thanks guys! Don’t know where else I would go if not for your great videos.
BulkReefSupplyCom
Thanks! I’m being careful this time around to save some coins for corals! You guys are a huge blessing!
My new tank about 3 months old is starting to develop some brown algae I believe diatom. 50 gallon display with 10 gallon sump. I have a coral beauty, Damsel and two clowns and one torch coral frag only cost me $30 bucks. Should I just leave the lights off and sacrifice my torch coral or keep the lights on and be even more diligent with water changes?
I think the biggest takeaway here is the introduction of a clean up crew and utilitarian fish that can help to stave off issues like this from the outset. Personally, I would look into developing your maintenance rhythm to a point where you can keep algae at bay along with increasing the types of CUC that can also help feed on that algae, until it becomes manageable.
Great vid. Easy to follow step by step. Awesome. Thanks. One detail question with the rock. I am starting a tank with rock currently in a bucket cycling. First question, when I am ready to move the rock to the tank from the bucket, how long can the rock be out in the air while I am scraping? It’s a 350 gallon tank and can’t scape in 20 minute with 200lbs of rock. Second question is, once I remove the rock from the bucket, get it scraped, do I put the cycled water in the buckets in the tank or use all net new salt water?
Thanks again for all these videos. They are organizing my thought process and allowing/forcing me to take my time with this. 🍻
Matt Reefer great question. I have the same one!
Can I cycle the rocks in a container just with fresh water or does it have to be with salt water? And do I need heater and pump for flow as well to do this? Cheers
If you're cycling the rock, you'll need to do this in freshwater. Flow is necessary and heat will speed up the process.
Hey guys so I’m doing the hybrid method when do I turn on my UV sterilizer and start daily % auto water changes using the Neptune DOS?
You can start water changes right away. We're still experimenting, but based on preliminary results, I would suggest waiting until towards the end of this 4 month time period to turn the UV sterilizer on.
@@BRStv do you have the info for settings on the DOS for that 5% daily auto water change?
Would there be any foreseeable issues from adding several bottles of bacteria from different manufacturers in attempt to diversify bacteria?
@@BRStv thanks for the heads up!Great video series as well!
Dr. Tims
Hi all, a question that's probably silly but is puzzling me as a new reefer doing a bunch of research.
I've watched the WWC/BRS hybrid method series (especially Ep5 and Ep12) and I'm somewhat puzzled by adding CUC at 1 month into the cycle before adding fish at 2.5-3 months into the 4 month cycle.
The CUC have no algae or fish waste to eat, so what is the purpose of adding them in? If the intent is to mature the tank before adding fish and corals for stability purposes, then how does adding the CUC do that? And what do you feed them to keep them alive and striving without mortality to achieve the purpose of having them in there in the first place.
Thanks in advance
To put it in Josh's words, " inverts can go in rather fast, generally as long as there are lower levels of nitrates and non-existent levels of nitrite. This also gives us a good reason to throw some food in for these critters, to help expedite the process as well."
My suggestion would be to use things like nori rubber banded to a rock. This gives your early inverts a great food source to snack on. You could also feed small amount of meaty foods, but be sure to monitor nitrates and phosphates to make sure you're not overdoing it.
@@BRStv Thanks a lot guys, much appreciate the response. It's always good to know the reason why we do certain things, as I think it helps in the long run.
Do you add the whole bottle of Microbacter7?
Why wait 2 months to add the first fish if the bacteria in a bottle is enough to handle the ammonia?
Great video. Cycling now and only in week 2. Looking forward to the next 3 months... :) . Thank you guys!
Are you doing water changes? I’m in week 1 cycling dry rocks in brute container.
I have 2 year old live rock from an existing 120gal reef tank. I'm basically doing a rock and water transfer to a 112 gal system. Would it be recommended to follow the 4 month waiting period before proceeding the addition of sps? Many thanks
-Alan
Old tank water good for this new startup? Got corraline algae growing
Following this method still one question. By adding the shrimp i have a massive bacterial bloom. Should i take out the shrimp or is this just a stage to go true?
Love the videos btw..
@@BRStv thanks for the answer, ill just let it be. Marry Christmas, a good ending and the best of wishes for the new year!
I've heard it mentioned numerous times, while researching saltwater aquariums, that you can't sift wet sand and I'd like to correct that statement. It's quite possible to sift wet sand. There's even a machine designed specifically for sifting wet sand. The patent number is US1430443A if anyone would like to look it up for themselves and here's a link for those curious but too lazy to look it up lol
patents.google.com/patent/US1430443
Great vid as always
Why do stony coral not thrive in new tanks? Here's my theory--insufficient dissolved organic compounds. There is a tendency to be very conservative with feeding in a new tank to help curtail the bloom of nuisance algae. With my own tank, I transferred relatively easy sps coral from an established tank. Eventually these otherwise thriving coral started to look sickly and I suffered a lot of loss within the first year. Then I started feeding the fish quite liberally. Coral started to turn around. Color improved and growth took off. Of course, this is just anecdotal data, but I think I may be on to something.
Can I add bubble tip anemone after cycle or should I wait longer?
We find it is best to give it a few months to make sure the parameters are stable. Anemones can pollute the water quite a bit if they die, so if the tank is not stable it will increase the chances of having a bigger problem later.
so after 4 months did you get coraline growing in that new tank used in the videoo..... ???
Yep! Lots of coralline in that tank at the 4 month mark and even more now :)
Just set up my first tank after 12 years our of the game. I should've/would've waited four months. Used dry rock and completely overlooked the difference between live and dry rock 🤦🏻
What algae eating fish would you recommend for a 20 gallon tank?
BulkReefSupplyCom - thanks, got a pin cushion urchin two weeks ago and seeing improvement.
My tank isn't big enough for a tang.. Its a nano aquarium. What algae eating fish would you suggest.
algae blennies are probably the most common choice. Otherwise, non-fish options like pincushion or blue tuxedo urchins work great too! Just don't add them too quickly as they'll starve easily without a good food source.
@@BRStv The cycling videos seem to base the 4 month method on a sps dominated tank, is there a recommendation for a more beginner coral tank of soft and possibly lps in regards to cycling duration? Thanks again for your advice. Much appreciated and helping a lot to grasp good concepts.
isnt coraline algae photosynthetic? how would it grow in 4 months with no light?
Yep, it's photosynthetic. As apart of this cycling process, we suggest turning the lights on at the 2.5 month mark.
Great video ! It's seems a fish wouldn't hurt & might actually help . Is I wrong ?
@@BRStv Thanks ! I'd hate to bring in ick or something from the yellow tang . How would you cycle a quarantine tank for the fish while your cycling the main tank ?
When can you add pods?
Once the tank is clear of ammonia and nitrite, pods can be added at any time.
what is the yellow coral at 30 seconds into the video pls.
@@BRStv thank you, will check em out at WWC!
IMO people tend to go _way_ overboard on cleanup crew, then they starve to death, die, and decay in the tank. A lot of the old stocking rules of thumb are extremely excessive.
Amazing
I CAN SEE THIS BEING HELPFUL TO A ALL NEW TANK, BUT ANYTHING I HAVE SET UP HAS BEEN WITH SOME LIVE ROCK FROM ANOTHER SYSTEM. NEVER HAD ANY KIND OF CYCLE?
Would I have the same success if I dosed Dr. Timm's ammonium chloride for the tanks volume instead of dropping in shrimp? And if I'm doing a large system, is there any role of thumb for how many shrimp to add?
Probably. I just think of the shrimp as time release where the ammonia is more controlled but needs to be done more frequently.
Lack of Bacteria cultures in the tank (Mike Paletta's experience on why SPS weren't growing)
I would never buy wet live rock. You’re just asking to immediately infest your tank with all kinds of pests.
rocks are turning brown I know poor lighting right
I clicked because I thought the thumbnail was weed
Benavidesbizby
Mmmm, reefer.
Oh. Wait.
Lol where in the world am I supposed to find coraline scrapings in the middle of Wyoming!? Lol. Hobby isn’t that big here
Monotone and long winded
Can corraline algae tolerate high ammonia and nitrite?
Probably best to consider coralline to be like corals themselves where, if a coral will not survive it is highly likely that coralline will also struggle.