The sand seems quite coarse. would that hurt sand-sifting fish and inverts?
It is course, it's mix of sand, small rubble and shells, and I think it looks great. I'm not an expert on sand sifting fish, so I'll let someone else answer that for sure, but I would think it's fine for them.
I used Dr. Tim's one and only. If you follow the instructions, it works very well.what product is the best for setting up a brand new tank to aid in cycling?
Yes and no. When the "cycle is complete", your system will be able to quickly process ammonia and turn it into nitrate. Water changes are generally reserved for after the tank shows no ammonia... The bacterial colonies that reduce ammonia and nitrite need to grow to a sufficient amount. There's no "one perfect plan" for how long this will take. You may or may not ever see nitrite, and since nitrite is harmless in saltwater, many don't even test for it.
If you want an almost instant cycled tank, you can use media from an established aquarium, but be aware, if the aquarium you've taken the media from has had any sort of bacterial, fluke's, and or velvet recently, it might get transferred on to your tank, if you ask about bottled bacteria, I've rarely used them so I don't know much about them, you can also buy live rock or live sand from brand's such as carib seawhat product is the best for setting up a brand new tank to aid in cycling?
And in a new tank, once nitrate is there, it won't "level out" without good nutrient export. Most find that water changes are the easiest way to reduce nitrates.
So should I just let it ride of for now? I guess it freaked me out cuz I never seen it spike before first time.
"Spike" is a very inaccurate term...
