When I setup my new nano tank in late April I seeded it with live rock, water, and very little sand from my 4.5 year old tank. I bought the "live sand" as well since I have always had good luck with it. This helped a lot on shortening the cycle, but I still added additional bacteria and elements. You WILL have some sort of a cycle. My tank ran without any livestock for 2 weeks. My brown algae came in and left very quickly and my tank parameters have been spot on since then. I took about 7 gallons out of my 34 gallon and added it to my 16 gallon.