Trust me on this one brother, the 3 Ps have a 4th... and that is Patience. Trying to jumpstart the biological processes in a reef tank are just gonna speed up the downward spiraling balance in your checking account.
However, to hasten things along ever so slightly, you can use live sand and add
live rock at the same time. DON'T add any critters for a good 6 to 8 (some argue 12) weeks atleast until you have some sort of evidence your cycle has ended. The live sand and
live rock will bring along some beneficial organisms that will help the process along and will keep you from condeming an innocent damsel or two to death due to toxic water parameters.
As for the contradictory methods you read about, just post a few of the questions and we'll all try to do our darndest to give you the straight dope and get you back on target. With the number of seasoned reefers on the site, I'm sure there aren't too many processes we haven't tried, failed at, or succeeded with...
Semper Fi, brother!
