Pre-cycling?

[jackson17]

If I were to take a filter and run it on a saltwater tank for 3-4 months and let it build up bacteria, could I just take it and the instantly switch it over to a new salt water tank?

[MonkeyPox]

You wouldn't need to run it that long, but yes, you would be seeding your media. The only thing you'd have to do is keep a constant supply of ammonia for the bacteria to feed off of.

[jackson17]

Well my teacher has a big salt water tank that has been running for a while so I was thinking of just sticking a filter on that, then once I can, move everything over.

Are the tanks for salt and freshwater the same? Or are they different?


And the bacteria for freshwater and saltwater arent the same?

[travie]

Well my teacher has a big salt water tank that has been running for a while so I was thinking of just sticking a filter on that, then once I can, move everything over.

Are the tanks for salt and freshwater the same? Or are they different?


And the bacteria for freshwater and saltwater arent the same?


They are not the same. In SW tanks you want to use live rock as your main form of biological filtration. Filters aren't usually a good way to go for biological filtration.

The bacteria is not the same.

Your method for building up bacteria on the filter is a good idea though.

[MonkeyPox]

Tanks are (generally) the same, though a lot of salt water aquarium owners prefer "reef ready" or pre-drilled aquariums.

Sadly, the nitrobacter are not the same genus or species.

Some people prefer live rock (FOWLR) tanks while others enjoy Fish only tanks. Entirely a personal preference.

[ILuvMyGoldBarb]

Personal preference yes, but when it comes to ease of maintenance, you you can't beat the natural filtration capability of live rock. Fish only tanks can be done but they are a SW maintenance headache in that you will need to do more frequent water changes as that would be virtually the only nitrate control you would have. The anaerobic bacteria present in the deep recess of live rock provide the de-nitrification that is mostly missing in a system without live rock.

[coachfraley]

IMO, you should just get the live rock and cycle the conventional way. You will come to find that SW tanks are all about the live rock. LR serves as your filter, a home for your fish/inverts, a mounting place for coral, and it can be aesthetically pleasing by itself.

[jackson17]

how long does a saltwater cycle take?

[travie]

Depends on how cured the LR was when you bought, and how long it was out of water from store to into your tank. Fully cured LR can take anywhere from a couple days to weeks to cycle. Then it only gets longer as the LR is only partial cured down to dry rock. Don't rush the cycle, because it will only lead to problems later on.

[JaredCBell]

IMO, you should just get the live rock and cycle the conventional way. You will come to find that SW tanks are all about the live rock. LR serves as your filter, a home for your fish/inverts, a mounting place for coral, and it can be aesthetically pleasing by itself.

this is very true. Now with all my live rock in I keep going over and staring at it seeing if I can find signs of life.

And its fun making caversn, passages and caves for potential tank mates to go through.

[jackson17]

Well I'm pretty sure my LFS keeps their live rock in saltwater and you buy it like that, not to sure I would have to go check.