what is the fastest way to cycle a new tank

[lampro]

what is the fastest way to cycle a new tank? i want to cycle a tank in a week if possible
how do i know when the tank is ready?

[mac]

Honestly rushing a reef tank is not the best option, I took months to cure my rock and set it up correctly so that is has a good base to start with.
1 year latter still going strong.

Will you be going fish only with live rock or full reef?

[DoubleDutch]

Filtermedia from another cycled tank is the best option I'd say. An otherwise a huge bottle of "Patience". Available for free everywhere.

[Slaphppy7]

Nothing "good" happens "fast" in fishkeeping, I have found

[toddnbecka]

Simply add filter media or substrate from an established setup to seed the new tank with the necessary bacteria, and provide a source of ammonia to feed them.

[BluewaterBoof]

As mentioned before, seeded media from another established tank will do the trick.

You can also stock the tank with LOCAL live rock from a nearby reef store. If you order your live rock off the internet and it comes harvested from the ocean you will need to cure it to avoid die-offs and the resulting ammonia spikes. Most live rock that is already sitting in giant tubs at your local shops will be cured and adapted to aquarium systems. Just play it safe and test your ammonia/nitrates for the first couple days to make sure there aren't any spikes. The biggest problem with live rock is that you don't get to pick and choose what critters end up in your tank. A lot of folks - myself included - like having a bunch of biodiversity in our tanks but I know there are a ton of people who don't like the idea of not knowing what is going into their tanks. It's up to you if you want to keep your tank "sterile" or not.

[The Cichlid Keeper]

There are actually a few methods to get the tank up and running but you want to keep in mind a few very important things: Ammonia is important to begin the cycling process. This is because Bacteria break it down into Nitrite (I think that's it). These bacteria can be found in live rock or live sand, I would personally go with FOWLR tanks including live sand but I've never kept saltwater. The bacteria can also be found in store products containing live colonies. Once the bacteria are done and there is a bunch of Nitrate, a second group of bacteria come in and change it into Nitrite, also known as Nitrifying Bacteria. Then do a water change of about 50% to clean out all of the Nitrite. Once you have an established colony of bacteria, you're ready to introduce organisms. Reef tanks are very sensitive to Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate levels so maybe it might be best to include very little fish or none in there. Dangers of using Live rock include stowaways (such as mantis shrimp) so they have to be cured. A large part of the bacteria on them may die because of long exposure to air. Good reason to include a Protein skimmer to begin with.
A shorter and easier way is to introduce a source of ammonia in the first place (fish flake, ammonium, and Damselfish) Damselfish are extremely hardy and can go into an aquarium after say, 5 days and shortly thereafter, ammonia-hungry bacteria will appear as well as other bacteria. No one's sure how they get in there anyway LoL. Damselfish are extremely territorial as well and must be moved later. Good way to cycle tank.
All said, have to have ammonia in there to begin with.
Water changes reduce the amount of Nitrite. Ammonia levels go up, then down, but as they go down, Nitrate levels go up, but then down, but as they go down, Nitrite levels go up and do that large water change. After this process is complete, then you are ready to start adding them fish!

[Slaphppy7]

Year old thread, OP never replied, now closed.