cycling a tank without fish

[RuGlu6]

Originally Posted by Fishward

Hello,
Im trying to cycle a tank without fish at the moment and im trying to figure out how much food i should be seeding the tank with to mimic the waste products of a fish? certain types of food better? at what point would i be able to add a hermit or some snails to help with the algae? would appreciate any help on getting this tank going.

Cheers!

No food is needed, or very little if you really want to, add a little part of a raw shrimp, and After 4 weeks you can add hermits and snails. they will eat algae and produce waste. This is very ! good idea to cycle your tank with out the fish.
After your tank has gone through a few algae/ciano cycles (it could take from 2 to 6 month) you can add fish, make sure to add No more then one fish In a two week or longer period to provide sufficient time to adjust for new bioload.
You can buy corals that you DO NOT have to feed like mushrooms, polyps etc, at any time after you tank is ready for live stock.
Congrats, you doing it right from the start, good job ! Learn from our mistakes !