I just got my 250G FT and 125G ST and one of six GB 125G, all IBC tanks put together and the water is cycling for now. I went through the forum. Some peope say to use sea weed with plants and then drop the fish in two weeks. Some people say if you can have the fish now, start with the fish?
Any idea?
can you share your success stories out. my first system was a 50g barrel cut into two GB. This second one is on a grand scale for me and I want to do it right.
Permalink Reply by Mike on October 29, 2014 at 5:01pm
Hello Moe,
I believe the answer to your question depends on what kind of fish you are putting into your system. If you are only doing feeder gold fish, I would not worry about fish-less cycling. But, if you are going to shell out for expensive fingerlings, you don't want to risk them with initially unstable water chemistry.
I'm assuming you will likely be go the fingerling root; thus, treat your system as an organic hydroponic set up while you get cycled. This initial fish-less step is when you would want to add the seaweed.
But honestly, you probably want to add seaweed even if you start with fish, as the influx of micronutrients is invaluable to your plants and bacteria... so this is a long drawn out yes.