how do you cycle a 2 or 1 gal?

same way you cycle a 102 gal, just use less ammonia

I cycled my new 2.5 betta mini bow in less that 10 hours. Used sponge, filter from large whisper filter, big rock with lots of media on it, and a nylon full of gravel. Seeded cycle rocks!!! Oh, and plants as well.

Yeah, smaller tanks cycle faster when done properly. I cycled my 5-gallon in 10 days. I used new gravel, water, and filters. Just cut 2 strips of floss material out of an old cartridge filter for my 10-gallon before I threw it away, then I added one into the reservoir behind my new filter and it's cartridge in the tank. I put a small shotglass in the tank and dropped in a piece of steamed cocktail shrimp (you could use sinking fish pellets). I used the shotglass in the tank to keep my substrate relatively free of the fungus and mold from the shrimp.

Once the ammonia levels hit 4.0 I added the second piece of old filter (which had been camped out in the reservoir on my 10-gallon filter) just dropped it right in on the gravel bed. That allowed that there was plenty of ammonia ready for the second bacteria culture so it would take off and go nuts and seed my gravel more easily than the first piece of filter floss alone could. It also boosted all the bacterial levels at a good time in the cycle.

I missed the nitrite spike due to a family emergency that kept me away for a day or two, but since then I've had perims of 0,0, and slow steady increase of nitrates. This was my first attempt at fishless cycling. I was thrilled with the results!!