Now doing a Fishless Cycle!!!

[IcedAngelKiss]

I was able to finally find a home for my fish! Yay!
I started a Fish In cycle a week ago Saturday and starting this past Saturday my Ammonia started to go up...so the cycling process has been a week so far...
So now that my tank is empty my levels are:
Ammonia - .25-.5
Nitrites - 0
Nitrates - 0
So...where do I go from here?
Where am I at in the cycling process (I know the begining, but Idk how long it takes for the Nitrites to show up)
I've read the links people have posted about cycling, however I'd like to get the advise from people on here, since it seems most of you know what you are talking about and can hopefully walk me through this
I have a 26g tall bow front tank.

Filter on, bubbler on, Temp set at 80, light off, water conditioned...fully decored as you can see!
I am not able to get any seeding from a cycled tank so I'm doing this from scratch.
I was told from a pet store associate to use Bio-Boost with my cycling, but wanted to know what people had to say about that...
Also, I have a few left over food particles in the gravel, should I vacuum that out or leave it for ammonia?
Thank you for the advice!

 

[librarygirl]

Hi! There's a link in my signature called: new empty tank. It's a fishless cycling guide that will walk you through the whole process. You'll just need a bottle of pure ammonia without surfactants, dyes or perfumes (the ACE Hardware brand is best if you have one near you).

I wouldn't bother with the Bio-boost or any such products.

Temp can be cranked up to 86 if it goes that high; 80 is fine though too.

You can vacuum or not; uneaten food may grow fungus eventually so you may want to remove it just for that.

It's hard to say how long things will take to progress; everyone's tank is different. On average it takes 2-3 weeks for ammonia to start dropping, then nitrites should start to show, but again it's just a guideline and there's no way to know for sure.

Good luck!