Seeding a tank

[Brighteyes_13]

So my live rock hasn't cycled again since moving from bins to display and at this point I'm not expecting to see a new one. Since adding it to the display I've seen no evidence of pods or bristleworms. I'd like to take the opportunity before adding any inhabitants to beef up on my beneficial critters and bacteria load.

Does anyone recommend buying a piece of fresher or more established live rock to add critters and bacteria, or just use a bag of livesand, and let the critters repopulate over time. I know by doing either I'll probably see a small cycle, but I'm kinda hoping for that.

All input is really appreciated


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[WarDog]

Patience.

Find someone willing to sell you a piece of established live rock to help seed. In time you will find all kinds of creatures that you never knowingly added, but always make their way into our tanks.

[Myka]

Bags of "live sand" only contain nitrifying bacteria. It's really not that "live".

I'd suggest you get a ball of Chaeto off someone - it is usually loaded with critters. Once you're done seeding just throw the ball out or give it to someone else

[Rog]

I had a whole jam jar full of critters until a few days ago. Wish I'd seen your post. I am taking cleaning out a couple of tanks this weekend. PM me if you'd like what I find. Worms, etc.

In the meantime, I highly recommend Stability.

[Brighteyes_13]

Rog that sounds super tempting! And I like the chaeto idea. Once I get lights up I'll have to look for some.

So is stability just bacteria in a bottle basically? My rock should still be live, it just went through a rough curing and killed all the critters. It might help me feel less anxious that I killed everything on / in it.


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[DKoKoMan]

Rog that sounds super tempting! And I like the chaeto idea. Once I get lights up I'll have to look for some.

So is stability just bacteria in a bottle basically? My rock should still be live, it just went through a rough curing and killed all the critters. It might help me feel less anxious that I killed everything on / in it.


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Best way I know of (also previously mentioned) is to get some liverock from an established system and/or micro algae. This will swing the rest of your tank in a good direction. :wink:

[Brighteyes_13]

On that note, anyone in Calgary willing to part with a 5-10 lb rock