Originally Posted by Blueface

Go with live sand.
It is neat.
Clean.
Has bio for you to help establish the tank.

BTW,
Don't believe it takes weeks to cycle a tank.
I have cycled many, many tanks and thrown in thousands of dollars of fish, with no problems.
The trick is three days use of a product called Bacter Vital.
Works like a charm.
I also use it quite often to set up hospital tanks asap when needed.