Cycle mania... Confused and need direction.

[khpddog]

Thanks all for your help so far. I am presently excited, but thoroughly confused. Here is my present situation:
210g up and running with 100lbs of LS in the tank, salt level 1.023, heaters off, lights off, skimmer off, pumps running. I was hoping to find answers to the following:

1) Will the cycling process begin on its own? I keep reading things like add fish food flakes, cocktail shrimp etc. to initiate the process.

2) Do I need more sand.

3) I am not sure what kind of LR I am going to use, can I wait to put it in or would it make sense to just pick a little of something and put it in now. If so what would be the minimum I should put in now?

4) When should the skimmer, lights, and heaters be turned on.

5) To LR or not that is the question?

Thank You,
Kevin

[aquaman67]

You can cycle your tank with live rock, if you are going to use live rock.

I would turn on the heaters and let the tank warm up.

Then, put all the rock you are going to use in at one time. You can do it in smaller amounts at a time, but you will have a mini cycle each time you do that so you shouldn't put in any live stock until all the rock is in.

If you do it all at once it will be cycled in about 6 weeks give or take a week or two.

Once the rocks are in turn the lights on for a while, a couple hours a day at least. Turn the skimmer on now too.

For a 210 you'll need 210 - 250 lbs of rock.

How deep is 100 lbs of sand in a 210? There are varying opinions about sand. Go with what you like.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I'd agree with everything aquaman said, with the exception of how much live rock you'll need. I believe that's a matter of personal preference, though many will disagree. That's fine If you can only afford 100lbs, or whatever, go with that now. Cycle it now. If you want to add more later, you can always cycle that new rock in a different container (rubbermaid with a pump, etc.).

[VacavilleFC3S]

aloha aquariums on ebay has excellent live rock for 1.98lb and cheap shipping