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Week 1
Products to use: Bactoreef, Microfaune Booster, Microfauna and Meiofauna Eggs, Instant Ocean Salt.
Startup Kit Protocol:
Fill the aquarium with Instant Ocean salt from Aquarium Systems, maintaining a salinity level of 1020–1024 to start and a temperature of 28–29°C to stimulate bacterial growth. The salinity will be gradually increased until week 3, reaching a maximum of 1028. The lights should remain off until week 3, though you may turn them on for a few hours daily to check or work on the aquarium. Even if the rocks are not yet in place, water preparation is essential, and you can begin adding the products.
Add Bactoreef and Microfaune Booster in a higher dosage: double or triple the recommended dosage on the bottle labels for six days to create cloudy or whitish water, known as a bacterial bloom. At the end of the first week, add the bottle of Microfauna and Meiofauna Eggs. The rocks can now be added. Our live bacteria are light-sensitive and will penetrate the rocks, establishing them as their habitat. The skimmer remains off.
Week 2
Products to use: Bactoreef, Microfaune Booster.
Protocol:
Continue adding Bactoreef and Microfaune Booster, now reverting to the normal dosage indicated on the bottles. Lights and the skimmer remain off.
Nitrate levels will peak and then gradually decrease with the continued addition of products. Nitrites, on the other hand, will have disappeared within the first few days. Unlike freshwater aquariums, nitrites always remain present (in small quantities) in marine and reef aquariums. They do not disrupt the startup process; their presence is part of the tank's balance. Salinity can now be increased.
Week 3
Products to use: Bactoreef, Microfaune Booster.
Protocol:
Continue adding Bactoreef and Microfaune Booster, maintaining the normal dosage as indicated on the bottles. The skimmer stays off, and water flow should be moderate. The tank is now starting to cycle, with nitrate levels gradually decreasing. You may begin lighting the tank for 2–3 hours a day. Allow the biofilm (a whitish-yellow layer or filaments essential for microfauna development and coral adhesion) to develop throughout the aquarium.
Week 4
Products to use: Bactoreef, Microfaune Booster.
Protocol:
Continue adding Bactoreef and Microfaune Booster at the normal dosage as indicated on the bottles. The skimmer remains off. Light the aquarium for 2–3 hours daily and lower the temperature to 24°C. You may introduce one or more soft corals as beta testers. Add various snails as well, ensuring they are alive (mortality rates for scavengers in stores are often high). Even if not visible, your tank contains micro-particles and micro-algae that they will feed on, contributing to the continuation and stabilization of the cycle. The soft corals will also help advance the tank's development.
Week 5
Products to use: Bactoreef, Microfaune Booster.
Protocol:
Continue adding Bactoreef and Microfaune Booster at the normal dosage. Start skimming and lighting the tank for a few hours daily. With the lights on, algae may begin to appear. To limit their growth, reduce the intensity of blue and red LEDs, as these color spectrums favor the growth of algae and cyanobacteria. Algae growth can also be caused by certain rocks containing minerals, silicates, and heavy metals, such as synthetic rocks. We recommend our pre-cycled and pest-free MarcoRocks for a clean start.
If the algae grow too long, scavengers will not eat them. If they become overwhelming, brush them off manually.
Week 6
Products to use: Bactoreef, Microfaune Booster.
Protocol:
The aquarium is now cycled, and microfauna will appear between the end of the first month and the end of the second month. Microfauna development varies between tanks, for reasons that remain unclear, but it will eventually establish itself. You can now start adding livestock gradually. Avoid overfeeding your inhabitants. Feed them a tiny meal once a day, to be consumed within 2 minutes. Your aquarium is now on its way to success.
Additional Tips
Salt: For starting the aquarium, we recommend non-enriched salt, such as Instant Ocean salt.
Filtration: Avoid filtering the water with perlon or micron bags during the first 8 months. The bacteria need to take over the aquarium and circulate freely, not be confined.
Minerals: The addition of magnesium and calcium is unnecessary during the first few months. Add minerals only if fully consumed by corals; otherwise, they may encourage algae and cyanobacteria growth.
Sand: We recommend non-enriched, non-living sand and prefer avoiding crushed coral sands. Sand without NO₃, PO₄, or silicates is essential.
Bare bottom: The bare-bottom trend is becoming increasingly popular, offering significant advantages. However, microfauna development may be more challenging in this setup.
Rocks: Due to the challenges of rock sourcing and the poor quality of many products on the market, we have imported MarcoRocks, tested by us and our European testers over three years. We can confidently say there are no better products for reef and marine aquariums. We highly recommend them for starting or restarting a tank, as well as for sumps or refugiums. Our MarcoRocks are pre-cycled and started in our lab; you just need to place them in your tank.
