Two of my tanks I purchased already cycled, the third one, which I cycled myself (and is midcycle right now) I did with a pair of dalmation mollies. They were for my son's room and he wanted fish in it now. I also used live sand and filled it full of live rock. the molly is doing fine and we just added a domino damsel the other day, also doing just fine, I haven't tested his water yet this week, but I am guessing the only thing I need to get down is the nitrate, based on the behavior of the fish. Sorry that didn't really answer your question.
Candra
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quote name='Fragen_Unreal' date='Feb 24 2009, 10:18 PM' post='27420']
I just started using a Stability to help cycle my 34g Solana. The live rock, from what I can tell, does not have any decaying material on it or it is cured. Do I need to introduce some kind of decayable matter to help get the initial ammonia spike? i.e. a cocktail shrimp. Or will the tank cycle without the waste?
Also, how long typically does it take for diatoms and the first sign of algae to show up? Thanks.