Adding dry ocean rock to aquarium

I am trying to get my tank to cycle. It has been running about a week and a half. I added some bacteria and oxygen booster that was sold at LFS. It it is a 120 w/ 50 gal sump. I have approx. 110 pounds of Totoka LR and Tonga LR. Testing daily, I get no readable amounts of Ammonia or Nitrite. The rock was cured and I brought it home from LFS and was in tank within an hour. I have aragonite sand but it is not live. I have some pieces of dry beach rock. I was wondering if I put that or some raw shrimp in my sump if maybe it would start the cylce. Should I do one or both or neither. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

Oh, here we go. Whether or not to put fish in or just use rotting food. Personally, I would use one or two yellow-tail damsels. They are hardy and pretty nonaggressive for a damsel. You will hear all sorts of information about how to start the cycle. Just choose the one that works for you.

And welcome to 3reef.

 

Its really nothing more then opinion on how to start a cycle.

I used nothing but live rock and it worked fine for me.

 

I personally use pure ammonia to start my tank cycle, to each his own, as they say. I personally think putting in food will cause problems, considering the food is actually rotting in the water. But that is just my personal opinion and no better than any others' opinion. I would avoid throwing in rock that you find on the beach though. There are contaminants on the beach that you really don't want to add into your tank, such as tar and any other substance we may not think about.
Before you decide to stock your tank, make sure you test and make sure that your nitrate levels are also zero. Ammonia and nitrite are deadly to the fish, but high level of nitrate can cause a whole load of problems as well, like algae etc. I have zero ammonia and zero nitrite, but my nitrate is ridiculously hight right now (I'm still cycling my restarted 150G), so I can relate to this. Just be patient and let nature take its course.

 

+1 on all points, not to mention that there is a very high likelyhood that taking that rock from the beach is illegal.