Cycling a Picotope 3 with Existing System Materials
 

Hey everybody. I'm getting a Picotope 3 for the holidays, and was wondering whether or not it needs to be cycled if I use water and live rock from my existing system. I currently have a 350 gallon reef tank that has been established with balanced parameters for roughly 2 years now. I plan on simply taking some of the water from this large system and using it in the Picotope. I'm also planning on probably using some live rock from the refugium.

1.) If I buy a new bag of live sand and possibly some new pieces of live rock for the Picotope, do I need to let it cycle?

2.) Will the Picotope be safe for livestock right away since I'm using biologically established rock and water from my other system, even if the sand is new?

Thanks for your time and happy holidays!

I believe that it should be fine.

Use a cup of Live sand from your established tank to seed the new bagged sand. Most bagged sand is not really live because who knows how long it has been sitting on the shelves.