For what its worth, the bacteria will not die in 20 minutes (assuming they stay wet the whole time). They can actually live for days (some people say up to 2 weeks) without an ammo source.
I didn't think it could. I'm glad I didn't let it dry out.
Edit: will plants do anything to effect the cycle in a good way? I want to add them during the cycle but I dot want to until my driftwood is in.