Testing Amonia,Nitrate, Nitrites while cycling

Just go to your butcher counter in the grocery store and ask for a couple medium sized raw shrimp. I think they are the 20-30 size(they gauge by how many you get per pound) variety or similar.

Drop in it your tank so it starts decomposing and putting off ammonia.

You need something to produce the bacteria and something to eat it.

Like I said I put a piece of existing LR in to jumpstart the system. It's a heck of a lot cheaper than trying to do live rock throughout the whole tank.

 

I was going to do that as well but found fishing the shrimp out after the ammonia started up to be a lot easier and less messy in the tank.

 

Yeah,

Ewww either way.

I was just trying to make it easier.

Any organic matter such dead fish, scallop, ....... meaty foods that decay will initiate the nitrogen cycle faster. Well no pork chops.

 

The one rule I have is that I won't do it with a live fish (again). I did it that way with my first tank and the fish did survive but knowing the stress it was under I wouldn't do it again.

 

Guys thanks for all your input!... I ended up using some fish food, a few pinches of pellets... hopefully this will get things going...