newbie

[mrhasan]

Originally Posted by 08arcticcat

i was trying to avoid using any live rock to prevent any unwanted hitchhikers that ive read about.

You can always go for aquacultured live rock (almost the same price as that of dry rock + no hitchhicker).

And yes you can use prodibio startup but it might possess a threat to the crabs not because of the product itself but because of the spikes that will be coming during the cycle.

[fishytime]

there should be no harm at all if you use prodibio "start"..... "start" comes with three different products in the kit....one is a beneficial bacteria, one is a food to feed the beneficial bacteria and the third is a product that neutralizes ammonia......your supposed to be able to take live rock (mind you) home add it and fish all at once with no cycle.....obviously not something I would suggest, but that's what the company claims....

[molotov]

It doesn't sound like you've had your cycle yet. I would throw in a raw shrimp and let that decay. If your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels haven't risen in a couple of weeks then you should be good to go. If you've been trying to cycle for three months what's another couple of weeks.

[Enigma]

I would just start "ghost feeding" the tank with a meaty fish food (frozen shrimp, etc.): after adding a bacteria product.

[08arcticcat]

k so i added some chemicals, then i added 1 shrimp to the tank and now the nitrates up at 5, the ammnia is around .25. i removed the crabs out of the tank and into a smaller container, would they be hardy enough to survive in the big tank?