My 72G up and running...

[lockekeyy]

So I have been able to plumb and set up my new 72G bowfront. I laid down eggcrate for the 60 lbs of base rock I will be adding once they cure. On top of the eggcrate, I put down 70lbs of dry aragonite sand, and about 25lbs of live sand from my established 30G. I also took all the live rock, about 50lbs, and placed it into the 72G. Before doing all this, I tested my 30g established and the specs were
SG 1.025
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0

and the 72G was
SG 1.024
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0

A day after adding all the live sand and rock, the specs on the 72G
SG 1.024
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0

I have been running my canister filter, protein skimmer, and DIY HOB refugium on the 72 since I added the sand 4 days ago. I'm curious as to if I've managed to delay the cycle, or if it'll never happen? I've already acclimated my CUC to the new tank and are very happy and working on it as I write. The clown pair I have also have been acclimated and are happy in the tank. I will be monitoring the specs of the tank pretty much everyday to see if anything spikes. If so, I have a tank ready for everything to go back into. My question is should I be expecting a cycle? I 've been advised that a mini one might show up. I would assume that the canister, live rock, and sand have seeded the tank pretty well with all the good bacteria.

 

[brians4671]

sounds like youve done your homework

 

[lockekeyy]

I've been doing a lot of reading on here of course!

So yeah, I'm not really expecting a cycle now (maybe a mini) since I've used the water from the established, as well as half the live sand and all the live rock. Still gonna test it frequently though and see if it does. Right now, I'm waiting on my base rock to arrive and currently building my 30G sump/refugium and switching away from the HOB refuge.
After a month or so after all the rock is in, I plan on getting a bigger CUC.
Right now, I only have a handful of blue-legged hermits as well as nassarius snails. I was thinking of adding

a handful of scarlet hermits
more nassarius snails
some ceriths,
a conch (maybe fighting or hawkwing)
2 peppermint shrimp
and 2 cleaner shrimp
tuxedo pincushion urchin

Would this CUC be ok if later on I plan of having one or a few BTA's, a mandy, and a blue tang, and some softies, and LPS? Mixed tank I know... but I figure it's a pretty small bioload for just a handful of fish and inverts.