cycle as BW or FW?

Tain't fresh, and tain't marine! Talk about brackish setups.
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cycle as BW or FW?

Post by racer »

So i have a 75 gallon tank ready to cycle that will house f8's. I have 2 stores close by one keeps them in FW. The other in BW. So do i cycle it as BW or as FW and raise my salinity?
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by J-P »

essentially it is the same thing. But I would cycle as FW and save $$ on the salt and then during the last water change add the salt and raise it to the correct SG level.
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by hadla »

yeah, like j-p said id cycle as freshwater then raise the salinity gradually... luckily i was able to raise mine kinda fast, but then my tanks have been running for over 3 years.
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by bertie 83 »

What they said lol. Raise the sg by 0.002 pw to the desired level once cycled. If you buy the f8 from freshwater source you could raise the sg nice and slow once your tank is stable with the bio load so you don't knock out too much bacteria.
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by racer »

So i seen this stuff at petland that claimed to cycle tank instanty. Im guessing snake oil?
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by Darielm »

racer wrote:So i seen this stuff at petland that claimed to cycle tank instanty. Im guessing snake oil?
Depends what it is. If is Tetra's SafeStart then it DOES work. I would go with that or order Dr. Tim's One and Only.
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by bertie 83 »

Yes one of our members fully tested safestart and it does work. I havealso heard good stuff about dr timms.
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by sgtmyers88 »

+1 on SafeStart Used it on my 150 gallon tank.
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by RTR »

If the tank is set as FW, you raise the specific gravity to the desired light brackish water (1.003 - 1.005) most safely in two steps, but should allow at least three or four day between increases. You also need to keep the bacteria fed during that time.

The fish can be drip-acclimated in a couple of hours maximum with no issues.

You might get away with going from S.G 1.000 to light BW in one step, but if the water is soft and acid (KH less than 3, pH less than 7.0), you may osmotic shock the osmotic shock the bacteria. Two steps is much safer.

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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by racer »

So if i use a safe sfart should i still feed it with ammonia? And do testin to make sure its working
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by bertie 83 »

Yes you must feed the bacteria and definately test regularly
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by Pufferpunk »

Safestart is only bacteria. It still needs to eat.
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by racer »

Ok so i added safe start then added ammonia to get it at 5. Just tested water and ammonia is still a t with nitrite 0. This sound ok?
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by bertie 83 »

What are the full test results amm nitra nitri
It's amazing how easy maintenance is. If done regularly and thoroughly
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Re: cycle as BW or FW?

Post by racer »

A4 trite0 trate5
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