Biospira / Dr. Tim's one and only VS. Shrimp

[Bike2k]

I will be starting my cycle tomorrow and I've seen some info about bottle bacteria (Bio Spira or Dr. Tim's one and only).

I have mostly dry rock (68 lbs) and will be adding about 10 pounds of LR with the water to my 75 gal DT. I also have 20g sump (no rock only sand).

It appears that they say the bottle stuff will cycle the tank in about 10 days or less and has a cost of about $22 for my size tank. the shrimp is considerably less cost but could tank 8 or 9 weeks.

I am looking to be in this addiction for awhile and I really want to start the tank right. Does this boil down to preference or is there something else I'm missing.

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks

[davidadelp]

Id like to hear the answer for this to since I will be starting my cycle soon as well. Ive read only good things about dr tims one and only but its a little pricey but is suppose to get the ball rolling faster. You can purchase the ammonia from him as well if you want to do a fishless cycle, which is what he recommends for smaller tanks.

[Zappo]

Yes, the bacteria supplements actually work. If you're in a hurry and don't mind spending the extra cash, go for it. I used seachem stability myself. They all do the same thing - shave a few weeks off of the time it takes to cycle.

[pop0tart]

I'd just add some quality liverock to your baserock and call it done. There really is no better way to add biodiversity and good strains of bacteria to your tank. If buying biospira, etc. makes you feel better, then go for it. The life that comes on rock also keeps things entertaining while you wait for fish. Biospira can't say that.

Are you doing DSB filtration in the sump?

[Bike2k]

Due to the size of the sump, I have only about 4" of DSB I'm hoping it enough.....

[thegrun]

You can save a few days (and have less smell) by using pure ammonia available at any drug store instead of the dead shrimp. Add enough ammonia to get your ammonia level up to 2ppm (in the neighborhood of 1/4 teaspoon) and let nature take over from there. There is nothing wrong with adding one of the bacteria products available but certainly it is no guarantee your cycle will be any shorter especially if the bottle of Dr. Tim’s has been sitting in a stockroom for a few weeks.

[Bike2k]

Would you do the bacteria product and a shrimp??

[Ryand63]

My personal suggestions just like thegrun: go to ACE Hardware or Homedepot and get pure ammonia (shake it, if it bubbles or fizzes, don't buy it). Use that instead of shrimp or ghost feeding, and then in addtion add some bacteria product. It'll save some weeks and copmlete a cycle in a beneficial way for long term success.

[thegrun]

Originally Posted by Bike2k

Would you do the bacteria product and a shrimp??

I would use one or the other. Using both would likely spike your ammonia levels higher than you want and cause more die-off on your live rock.

[DownwardDawg]

I thought about all of these same questions and finally went with the dead shrimp. I'm old school and it works.

[Mussin]

I bought a large bottle of Dr. Tims one and only to cycle my 90G, it also came with a bottle of ammonium chloride to feed the bacteria. I just followed the directions and it worked great, completely cycled in 10 days. I bought enough to do my display and sump (30G) so enought for 100 G or so, you cant over dose this stuff so just dump the whole bottle in. I Know alot of people on here say its "snake oil" but it works. I added probably 80lb of dry rock and maybe 15-20lb of live rock and a scoop of old sand from my 28 nano, im sure that helped out.

Jeremy

[Bike2k]

thegrun is that a 1/4 teaspoon of ammonia per gallon?

[chrisfont23]

Might as well pee in ur tank.

[Bike2k]

I opted out of using the ammonia. Putting anything like that (chemicals) into my tank just didn't feel right. All the ones I picked up foamed when i shook them so that made me even more nervous. I did realize that the the bacteria would need food. So I went and added the shrimp anyway. I wasn't going to risk anything live. Now I'll wait and see.

[slavver01]

So is it ok to add additional live rock at any point of the cycle? If say I have a cycle going with say 50lbs of base and 20 of live, and a week in, I get more live rock, ok to toss it in? Will it depend on if there is an ammonia spike going on or not?

[sporto0]

Just do it the natural way so that you can monitor & test & LEARN how the cycle works, it gives you the basic understanding & base knowledge you need for a saltwater tank, trying to shave a few weeks off of something that will last a lifetime is ridiculous in my opinion & indicative of the "I want it now" generation, which becomes bored all too soon with most new endeavours. Good luck, Dr. Tim's = a cure to baldness.

[thegrun]

Originally Posted by Bike2k

thegrun is that a 1/4 teaspoon of ammonia per gallon?

No, start with 1/4 teaspoon for the entire tank and add more if necessary. I like a 2ppm ammonia level to start a new tank cycle unless there are corals on the live rock I am using that I hope to have survive the process in which case I use a 1ppm ammonia level.

[TimmyD16]

Originally Posted by chrisfont23

Might as well pee in ur tank.

HAHA, sounds like the reason I'm not starting my tank while at school... But if it can jump start your cycle.... I'll have to do some more research...