Would a tank have to cycle

[CoreyB]

if the rock and sand came out of the ocean and was placed in the tank 30 mins after?

[Gryz]

Most likely it will still have a small cycle...but I do not recommend placing anything from the ocean in a tank...you don't know if it is polluted or something of the sort.

[CoreyB]

Yeah, good luck finding affordable LR here from a store :p

[Sugar Magnolia]

From what I understand, LR is very expensive in Japan. Grynski does have a good point though, if you collected the rock close to shore, it's possible it's full of nasty stuff due to higher pollution levels near the shore. Another thing to consider is whether it's legal to take the rocks and sand. I don't know what Japan's laws are on that. Having said that, sounds like you've already gotten the stuff?

You will definitely need to cycle the tank... the conditions the stuff was in, in the ocean are completely different than the conditions in your tank. Cycle it as any other new system.