Jim Mc October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 I didn't notice any threads on this so I thought I would share my single experience. About 4 months ago a did a complete break down of a 120 to a 150. I know small change but I needed a 5ft tank because I wanted everything in the stand. I struggled for awhile trying to figure out what I was going to do during the cycling process because I was planning to reuse everything from the old tank to the new. I'm a big fan of the show tanked so finally I decided to use that stuff they use all the time. The product name is colony: http://acrylictankmanufacturing.com/products/water-treatment/biologicals/colony-nitrifying-bacteria/ It worked for me with no bad results. I filled the 150g with new saltwater. I let it run with 2 clowns 4-5 days, basically the time it took for the product to ship to my house. When the product arrived I added it to the tank as directed and waited a day. I added the rest of my fish and coral over the next 24-48 hours. No issues at all. I should mention I have predominately LPS and only 2 SPS coral a pink stylopora and peach digita. Over the course of the next few weeks I did get an algae bloom like normal cycling but it went away. I also didn't run my UV sterilizer for about the first two weeks. I cant give you test numbers for anything because I never even bothered to test. Everything looked good so I figured no reason to waste the tests. On a side note, I have used most of the ATM products recently and would be happy to share my results if anyone is interested just send me a pm. Anyway that was my experience. I would do it again but trust me I was super nervous with a few thousand dollars of livestock at stake. Here is a video of the tank from last week (4 months old) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyCallMeMr.703 October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 Very Nice Tank... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joshifer October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 (edited) I love your backdrop. I'd like to do that one day. All rock. Nice job and I'm in Woodbridge too^_^ always nice to see some neighbors on here Edited October 9, 2013 by Joshifer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 That's not really an objective test since you used much of the old tanks' contents. If you were to use brand new everything and that product, then you would have a real test of the product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jefftse October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 That's not really an objective test since you used much of the old tanks' contents. If you were to use brand new everything and that product, then you would have a real test of the product. Agreed. I just switched from a 180g to 600g. I saved as much as water, sand and rocks possible and everything seemed fine. Didn't even add anything bacteria. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc October 9, 2013 Author Share October 9, 2013 (edited) I guess I should be more specific. Brand new items. Saltwater Sand Rock Sump External Pump UV Sterilizer Tank Itself Stand Reuse from old tank Fish Coral Lights Skimmer Reactors (carbon and GFO) I'm not trying to sell anybody on this idea of instant cycling just letting you all know my experience. Edited October 9, 2013 by Jim Mc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 Not sure what you mean. The water sand and rocks were all new. The reuse was lights, skimmer, etc. " I struggled for awhile trying to figure out what I was going to do during the cycling process because I was planning to reuse everything from the old tank to the new." Here it says you planned to reuse everything from old tank to the new, so if you transferred everything over, you didn't really start from new, therefore not really proving the product instantly cycled a "new" tank. Pretty sure that's what the conversation is attempting to be.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheyCallMeMr.703 October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 I didn't notice any threads on this so I thought I would share my single experience. About 4 months ago a did a complete break down of a 120 to a 150. I know small change but I needed a 5ft tank because I wanted everything in the stand. I struggled for awhile trying to figure out what I was going to do during the cycling process because I was planning to reuse everything from the old tank to the new. Not sure what you mean. The water sand and rocks were all new. The reuse was lights, skimmer, etc. This above is what you originally wrote, Only reason I think... Kinda' led us to believe you would use the rock also... Hess' the "Everything from the old tank to the new" <--- Only Reason. lol. . But Cool stuff, may have to try it out... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smallreef October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 I'm sure Mr. 703 means Hence ,not Hess... But that is what I read it as also, so thank you for clarifying the fact of new rock and sand and keeping the same equipment... I have been 'cycling' my new 150 with new sand and mostly new dry rock (I did put in a few pieces of live rock to help) but I will be mixing in the rest of my current 50's rock and sand before transferring in all live contents... I literally have just added some of Dr. Tim's beneficial bacteria also, as I'm with you in the taking that it helps populate in a tank that has little to no current bacterial population. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enkay October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 I used Microbacter which I got from QR to cycle my 120. Everything was "new" or had been sitting around for a while. It took me about 2 weeks to do a fishless cycle and I have not had any issues since. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 just out of curiosity...why didn't you use the old tank water, sand and rock (if you didn't...im having a hard time following as well though) then you could have just added additional salt water to fill it up and be done with your transfer... oh and Kim, best not to try to decipher what 703 means LOL...none of us have that decoder ring Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc October 9, 2013 Author Share October 9, 2013 I didn't use the old rock because I didn't like it. it was a hodge podge of all different kinds and I wanted a more uniform look. I didn't use the old water just because it was time for a water change so I thought why not. As for the sand same reason as the rock it was a mix of different sands and kinds of a detritus trap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc October 9, 2013 Author Share October 9, 2013 I guess I should be more specific. Brand new items. Saltwater Sand Rock Sump External Pump UV Sterilizer Tank Itself Stand Reuse from old tank Fish Coral Lights Skimmer Reactors (carbon and GFO) I'm not trying to sell anybody on this idea of instant cycling just letting you all know my experience. Sorry you might not have seen this earlier as it was an edit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 oh and Kim, best not to try to decipher what 703 means LOL...none of us have that decoder ring LMAO! OP, I love that rock design; it reminds me of a reef wall. I bet it will look awesome once the corals start growing out, great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 Typically all of the bacteria in a bottle only creates a mini cycle and then you think it's done and add fish, corals, inverts, etc only to have them die off from sickness, water chemistry, etc. I've seen this exact cycle occur on numerous maintenance accounts and reading about it here. Did anyone pay attention to the speaker at a recent meeting say that it takes 90-180 days to properly cycle a tank? That's how they do it in Europe. We Americans want everything NOW!, and invent all sorts of snake-oil to achieve those "results". If anyone doesn't believe this, you only have to look at many of the threads here on WAMAS that confirm it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sachabballi reef October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 Rob stop scaring away new people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trockafella October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 Typically all of the bacteria in a bottle only creates a mini cycle and then you think it's done and add fish, corals, inverts, etc only to have them die off from sickness, water chemistry, etc. I've seen this exact cycle occur on numerous maintenance accounts and reading about it here. Did anyone pay attention to the speaker at a recent meeting say that it takes 90-180 days to properly cycle a tank? That's how they do it in Europe. We Americans want everything NOW!, and invent all sorts of snake-oil to achieve those "results". If anyone doesn't believe this, you only have to look at many of the threads here on WAMAS that confirm it. You're like human sandpaper... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnevo October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 The only thing I'm disappointed in is that you didn't test anything. So the only conclusive evidence you have is that everything survived. Plus you added fish right away. How can you tell that there was no ammonia or nitrite issues or there was no mini cycles without even one test. Anyway congrats on the smooth transfer. I'm glad that no fish or coral were harmed in this experiment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc October 9, 2013 Author Share October 9, 2013 The only thing I'm disappointed in is that you didn't test anything. So the only conclusive evidence you have is that everything survived. Plus you added fish right away. How can you tell that there was no ammonia or nitrite issues or there was no mini cycles without even one test. Anyway congrats on the smooth transfer. I'm glad that no fish or coral were harmed in this experiment I cant there is no science here only anecdotal evidence. The only thing I can say is that when I finally did start testing (maybe 4 weeks later) the phosphates and nitrates were a little high but nothing to be alarmed about. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SaltLife October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 Typically all of the bacteria in a bottle only creates a mini cycle and then you think it's done and add fish, corals, inverts, etc only to have them die off from sickness, water chemistry, etc. I've seen this exact cycle occur on numerous maintenance accounts and reading about it here. Did anyone pay attention to the speaker at a recent meeting say that it takes 90-180 days to properly cycle a tank? That's how they do it in Europe. We Americans want everything NOW!, and invent all sorts of snake-oil to achieve those "results". If anyone doesn't believe this, you only have to look at many of the threads here on WAMAS that confirm it. +1 Great words. They are what i lived by on one of my tanks right now. Its at about 100+ days now. Already sooo much life. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 You're like human sandpaper... you must be referring to my ability to sand away the BS to expose that shiny new truth inside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnevo October 9, 2013 Share October 9, 2013 Btw the video looks like a static image...do you have another link? And more pictures!!! Definitely would like to see more of how this upgrade progressed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Rhoads October 10, 2013 Share October 10, 2013 That's how they do it in Europe. Well, if they do it in Europe... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Mc October 10, 2013 Author Share October 10, 2013 Btw the video looks like a static image...do you have another link? And more pictures!!! Definitely would like to see more of how this upgrade progressed! If you click it, it should take you to the video on photobucket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lnevo October 10, 2013 Share October 10, 2013 If you click it, it should take you to the video on photobucket. Not quite...but I got to it. Great tank!! Love the rock. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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