RandyB,
I am not going to lie there are many ways to speed up the cycling process of a tank. It is just simply that the recommendation of three months is to get you into the "habit" of caring for marine life again (or teach you in some instances).
You seem really eager , and I do not blame you there (I was too)

, but lets get the basics going. Is your tank curently set up, or are you planning on just setting it up and then adding all the stuff we talked about and an octo a few days later?
Again, I don't blame you for being so eager (as you obviously seem to manage a few tanks), but octos are a different responsibility. In other words, more things that are fatal to an octo than other marine life. I.E. Nitrate, Ammo, any number of certain spikes could lead to problems. A cycled tank is not immune.
Please do not view this as negative, I just really care about the animals we house and the people that do so!!!!!!
