Cycling without damsels OR live rock?

Mike D. wrote:
Personally, I believe this cycling stuff is a lot of hullabaloo. If you
start with any type of sturdy species (trigger, tang, lionfish, damsel) and
add fish slowly, and use charcoal, the tank should be able to age on it's
own. For example, if you have a 75 gallon tank, and you add a tang, a
trigger, and a lionfish and a damsel, and have a good filter, fresh
charcoal, and feed sparingly for the first weeks, you shouldn't have any
excessive spikes. That is just my opinion, and it is what I did in my 92
gallon tank, although I DID use damsels, as that's what I was told was best.
Mike.

One can always speed things along by asking LFS for a cup or two of gunk
out of one of their sumps...