New tank set up time frame question

[rocky41102]

I am setting up a new 40 gallon FOWLR tank. My husband has an established tank already so I'm going to use several pieces of his live rock, some water, and some sand along with live sand from the pet store and possibly a few pieces of live rock that is already cured from the pet store.

I'm wondering about how long it will take to cycle the tank? I know when we set up the first tank it was about 4 or 6 weeks when it completely cycled and we had to cure the rock with that set up. With what I'm using, will the tank cycle faster?

I have a pair of clownfish that I want from my local fish store. They're being held and I can leave them at the store for 2-3 weeks. Is that long enough to cycle the tank?

[gone fishin]

With that particular setup I would speculate you would have very little to no cycle. Just my 2 cents good luck

[scooter31707]

When you say get some live sand from the pet store, are you getting true live sand or live sand in the bag? Depending on how much live rock you put in there will depend the length of the cycle. IMO, anywhere from 30-40lbs of rock, you may not have a cycle at all. Also you have to be careful of die off if you get live rock from your LFS which can cause an ammonia spike.