StringerBell wrote:

I am cycling with 65 gallons with Cured Live-Rock. Will waste and die-off
from the
Rock itself feed the Bio-Spira bacteria?

Yes.

Might that then result in having less over-all die-off on the Rock and
preserve more of its critters?

Maybe. You shouldn't see much die-off in cured live rock - that's what curing
the rock does.

Might that make a gentler cycle?

Yes. That's the entire idea behind the Bio-Spira.

Even with the stuff I`m planning on being very patient before introducing
fish.

Start testing nitrites after a week. If they don't go up, you can start adding
livestock after another week. If the nitrites go up, wait on them to come down
before adding fish. That shouldn't take more than 3 weeks total. If you are
planning to quarantine your new purchases (a good idea), you can buy the first
one now and keep it in quarantine.

Spacing your additions works well. I bought a 100 gallon tank in 1976 and
upgraded it to a 125 about 15 years ago. I have never been able to afford to add
lots of large fish to that tank, so all additions were spaced out. I have never
seen a nitrite level higher than 0.1 in either of those tanks, except for once
when the fluidized bed filter I had failed and I didn't know it.

But I thought maybe I could put several hermit crabs in relatively soon if
I`m taking this approach?

Some hermits are vegetarians; some carnivores. Whichever you buy, you should
dump a little food in there for them. They won't need much. Once you have fish
in the tank, the hermits will feed on leftover fish food. As algae develops in
the tank, you'll probably want more of the vegetarian species.

George Patterson
Coffee is only a way of stealing time that should by rights belong to
your slightly older self.