Does it matter type of live rock...?

When you can add a fish and not detect Ammonia or Nitrite with a test kit

 

ok nice ty

 

it becomes "live" within a few hours/days of placing it in your tank... but that is just the initial batch of bacteria, it gets stronger and more diverse as time goes on.
here is a quote by Eric Borneman:
"Bacteria grow really fast, and so they are able to grow to levels that are capable of uptaking nitrogen within...well, the cycling time of a few weeks to a month or so. However, if you realize the doubling time of these bugs, you would know that in a month, you should have a tank packed full of bacteria and no room for water. That means something is killing or eating bacteria. Also realize that if you have a tank with constant decompositon happening at a rate high enough to spike ammonia off the scale, you have a lot of bacteria food...way more than you will when things stop dying off and decomposing. So, bacterial growth may have caught up with the level of nitrogen being produced, but things are still dying...you just test zero for ammonia cause there are enough bacteria present to keep upwitht he nitrogen being released by the dying stuff....does not mean things are finished decomposing."

 

Well put Peridhil

 

I agree. I mixed some live and base rock and waited for about 6 months before adding any lifestock, just to make sure that my nitrates and amonia are at 0. Just take your time and the base rock will do its job.

 

6 months seems like a very long time... why so long?

 

I suspect he meant 6 weeks

 

that is what i was thinking lol i was like wow i gotta wait 6 months? I'd go crazy staring at rock lmao..

 

Great writeup Dingo, worded very well