Second hand 75 Gallon Tank Questions

[Swayingoceans]

Hi everyone,

I'm really new to the hobby and I have just started work on a 75 gallon saltwater tank. It was in use less than 24 hours prior to my bringing it home, and the live rock, dry rock, filter (media) and sand as well as some of the original water from the tank came home with me. I'm wondering if any of you have tips for cycling needs for this kind of tank, beyond just daily testing. I've read conflicting information on whether or not I could add corals/fish sooner than the recommended usual cycling times. So I guess my question is, if my testing results are all in the clear, should I still wait until I add livestock?

 

[Idoc]

I don't think I understand the question exactly. But, I would recommend not using the same sand from the previous tank...it's cheap and you can start fresh easily enough here. As for the liverock, if you haven't kept it completely submerged, temp controlled, etc... then you will have some die-off of the bacterial and other fauna which will illicit a minicycle. It's ok to use this, but I'd get the tank running and test for ammonia for a couple of weeks prior to adding any livestock. Or, you can also add some bottled bacteria to help things along more quickly.