I agree with the above more diverse bacteria in some "dirty" sand. I don't like adding dead stuff to a tank to cycle, some sand from a established tank then a small fish is the right way. make sure you choose a fish you can live with or is easy to catch. when I started my g/f tank we put lil fish in Fuge and used nice cured rock, and new sand. never got a bad algae out break or diatoms. just remember to take it slow.