New tank cycling

[Gh El]

Hello
Recently bought a used Red Sea max 130 which I wish to transform to marine / coral
I'm on the stage of cycling now & wanted to know if it's ok to cycle with live sand or crushed coral instead of live rock ( not a fan of live rock due to the hitch hikers & rock losing colour during cycle )
Can I also put artificial live rock now or do I need to wait till after the cycle ( chose the artificial even though it's more pricy than the live so there's no hitch hikers & colour remains the same )
Your help is greatly appreciated

 

[Diesel]

Not sure about artificial rock if you go corals.
Let me ask you this, you mean handmade liverock or ceramic rock?
Even artificial rock will change color if you like it or not.

Everything that you want to have in the tank even a old pirate ship you want to cycle from the beginning.
It ll can contain some sort of what ever is on it you want to get that off during the curing or cycling process.
The more bacteria you can add to your tank the better.

 

[Wicked5oh]

Your tank will cycle faster with live rock, and IMO all my hitchhikers that came on my rock are good for my tank. My tank cycled in about two weeks. And was done 4 days after adding about 30lbs of established rock. And I have a ton of sponges, coralline, feather dusters, star fish, and tone of pods!

But you can also cycle by putting a piece of shrimp from the grocery store in the tank. I believe it only needs to sit in your water for a day or so or more. Use a piece of panty hose to wrap the shrimp so you don't leave a bunch of decaying matter floating around the tank.

Edit: my live rock was so healthy, I didn't have any die off at all, in fact I had a piece that had 20+ zoa heads and it did just fine.

 

[Gh El]

Not sure about artificial rock if you go corals.
Let me ask you this, you mean handmade liverock or ceramic rock?
Even artificial rock will change color if you like it or not.

Everything that you want to have in the tank even a old pirate ship you want to cycle from the beginning.
It ll can contain some sort of what ever is on it you want to get that off during the curing or cycling process.
The more bacteria you can add to your tank the better.

It's handmade live rock

 

[Gh El]

Your tank will cycle faster with live rock, and IMO all my hitchhikers that came on my rock are good for my tank. My tank cycled in about two weeks. And was done 4 days after adding about 30lbs of established rock. And I have a ton of sponges, coralline, feather dusters, star fish, and tone of pods!

But you can also cycle by putting a piece of shrimp from the grocery store in the tank. I believe it only needs to sit in your water for a day or so or more. Use a piece of panty hose to wrap the shrimp so you don't leave a bunch of decaying matter floating around the tank.

Edit: my live rock was so healthy, I didn't have any die off at all, in fact I had a piece that had 20+ zoa heads and it did just fine.

Wow 2 weeks cycled I've heard it takes between 4-6 weeks

 

[Diesel]

It's handmade live rock

Yep, that will change color too but it's a whole lot better than ceramic rock.
Take you time on cycling.
With a shrimp in a baggie it can take two weeks as explained.
You can go Dr Tims one and only and have it done in 5 days or you just put a small piece of liverock in your sump and do the 6 till 12 weeks cycle.

 

[Gh El]

Yep, that will change color too but it's a whole lot better than ceramic rock.
Take you time on cycling.
With a shrimp in a baggie it can take two weeks as explained.
You can go Dr Tims one and only and have it done in 5 days or you just put a small piece of liverock in your sump and do the 6 till 12 weeks cycle.

Currently purchased Aqua sonic cycle & Red Sea mature pro kit

 

[Diesel]

Don't know the aqua sonic cycle.
What all contains that RS kit?

 

[Wicked5oh]

Wow 2 weeks cycled I've heard it takes between 4-6 weeks

Look around, there are some who have used lbs per gallon live rock and live sand, with bio in a bottle (can't remember brand) and cycled tank in a few days. I've also watched videos on taking a sponge containing bacteria out of an established sump and putting it in a new tank. I believe this same method can be used to quick
Cycle a QT tank.

 

[Salty1962]

Welcome to R2R! Live sand will help with your cycling but I would by some LR to help with building up your bacteria in the tank. As mentioned, be patient with your cycling. It's one of the most important things to having a successful tank. Make sure there is no ammonia or nitrites in your tank before adding anything. Then add your livestock very slowly and test levels again to make sure your tank doesn't produce anymore ammonia or nitrites. Good Luck and keep us posted!