Cycling with cured LR & LS??

[Reefaddict]

I have a 10gal with cured LR & LS thats been cycling for a week now.

Ammonia has been at, and is still at 1.0 the whole week. Is this normal?

I've heard of people using shrimp to cycle tanks. Do I need anything else other than the LS & LR since they are both cured already.

5 pounds of LR
10 pounds of LS
SG 1.025
temp 79-80

I plan to add at least 5 more pounds of LR and 10 more pounds of LS. LFS is out of LR momentarily. Should I add more sand asap? Will it be ok to add LR and LS a little later?

Thanks for any suggestions!

 

[steve-s]

The ammonia level is nothing to be concerned about. It may even rise a bit more before it falls. Once you start seeing nitrites form that will be an indictaion things are beginning to move forward. The tank will take as long as it needs to cycle and should not be "hurried". Since you have ammonia, the addition of the raw shrimp is unneccessary.

If you are going to be adding more sand or LR, I would suggest sooner rather than later unless the rock will be cured seperately. Each time you add rock to the tank without re-curing it first, there will be additional spikes in the water quality.

Cheers
Steve