cocktail shrimp

Well, as much as others here will protest, using live rock to cycle the tank is a great way to do it.
IMO it makes more sense.

Use cured rock and you'll cycle in hours to days, at most a week.
 
IMHO if you use cured rock from the start at a rate of at least 1 lb per gallon you will not really have a traditional cycle. By using the cured rock you are adding an established biological filter from the start. The only issue is that I would caution against adding fish very quickly. The bacteria will die off if there is no ammonia to consume. Using this method I would still let the tank sit without any critters for 2 weeks while testing the water making sure you do not have any die off. After this period you can begin to add fish at a rate of 1 every 3 or 4 weeks to allow you bacteria population to grow along with the waste load.
I would not add cured live rock to a tank that you plan to fishless cycle. The ammonia load will kill of some of the life on the rock that you paid handsomely for.

Brian
 
Well said.

I have however, added up to two fish a fortnight, but we are talking small baby fish that dont make a ton of waste.

Definately decide to go one way or the other, either fishless with shrimp or use cured live rock, not both.
 
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