cycle 10gal refuge 1st?

I recently heard that I should cycle the 10gal additional refuge im going to add to my system before I plumb it in. I have a 10gal tank with 3" of dead sand and freshly mixed saltwater. I need advice on if I should listen to him or not?

Should I just plumb it in since it would be like a water change and just adding water volume since the sand is just dead? I washed the sand with saltwater first. The 10gal is still cloudy 24 hours later, i'm not running any filters or powerheads, just a heater to get it ready to plumb in.

 

You do not need to cycle it.

 

After I give the sump a massive clean out etc like I did today, and the water in there is cloudy, I like to run my return pump through a divertion on the return PVC back to the first section to cycle the water through that for a while and get the water in there moving.

Then once it is clear, and I test it, make sure its the same as the display, I divert the return back to the display.

 

This is possible.. Just have to close the return valve to the DT.

Thanks for the replies ;D.

I like knowing a cycle is not needed.
Cycling seems to not have the same justification like a couple years ago. I'm just obsessed and care about my fish too much not to ask lol. Hell I just had a friend take some LR, chaeto and water from my tank and didn't have to cycle anything. Just waited for the water to stop being cloudy from adding live sand. Plus to top it all off, he hasn't lost a single fish(unlike my new 65gal with a death toll of 5+). I remember waiting 6 weeks to add one damsel when my parents set up the first tank I had lol

Even if you don't have a friend, you can just go to your lfs and buy some LR and some bio-spira if you want to be extra cautious. I have seen several impatient parents(of kids who love Nemo ;D) use this method to much success.

 

Live rock ususally goes through a die off when added to a new tank. So thats really not a good idea to introduce fish straight away.

As long as your water is not cloudy, and your water test readings are the same in the DT and refug, you will be good to connect them.

Patience is the key here my friend.