Revamp of shrimp tank using quartz

[Aquarubies]

I have been using ADA/Gex soil for several years to keep Sakuras. Recently, I am trying to revamp my tank and use Quartz for a better look instead. Any shrimp keepers have experience in using quartz in terms of:

Cycling tank--How long does it take since its inert and doesnt leech ammonia to kick start? still 1 month or so?

Maintaining pH-- pH level should be 7 or slightly above 7 due to tap water used. slightly higher than required for sakuras.

and any other factors that I should take note. Open to all discussions! thanks for your opinions.

[avex30]

No ammonia leech mean you will not be able to kick start the nitrogen cycle.... Meaning you will nou have bb to handle bioload.

You might want to consider manuallly kick start it with bicarbonate powder... Or introduce little by little to let the bb culture.