I remember when I was going through the same thing you were. But, since you dont have fish, etc, in there yet, have you thought of cycling the tank with uncured live rock? There are some sources out there that will sell small boxes (30-40lbs) and it was literally picked the day before. I got some Vanuatu live rock like that and Ive had awsome results. The only draw back is the smell of the rock. It wasnt a problem for me because of open windows, but I live in LA and Im not sure what the weather is like in Illinois. Heres how I can sum up the benefits:
the rock was cheaper, not all the benficial life died off during the spikes of the cycle and they have repopulated, an amazing copepod community going on, hitchhikers that come along, like stars, no fish to kill for cycle purposes (the die off is enough ammonia)....thats just what I can see (and think off the top of my head).
There is only one draw back...lots of water changes because of the huge amounts of ammonia from die off. TRUST ME ITS A SMALL PRICE TO PAY.
You can find uncured live rock sold on the internet for $2.50/lb with the right amount of research. I wish I could refer the site I went through but my comuter crashed a while ago and I lost the history.
