Saltwater cycle

[Reefscape]

I need some help with cycling.

Ok I setup my 29gal. on 2 days ago(Friday7/25), right now I only have live sand in there along with the water. Now my question is when can I add live rock and do I have to add an ammonia source or will the live rock be enough? I dont want to put a rotting shrimp in the tank becuase it's in my bedroom and I dont want to deal with the smell. Then I'm kinda of scared to add pure ammonia to the tank as I wouldn't know how much to add.
These are my parameters as of today(Sunday 7/27)
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 20ppm
Salinity 1.026

You can add live rock straight away. Its always better to get all the live rock in there from the start, as if you add large portions after the cycle, your tank will experience a mini-cycle...All depends on the budget really, if you can afford to put in 60 - 70lbs of live rock now..

As a ammonia source, as you dont want to use raw shrimp / prawn, your only left with using un-cured live rock, or the ammonia method...

 

[BigMike]

quick clarification...

Am I correct in assuming that once you start your cycle, (I used the rotting-shrimp method) that your cycle is complete when, and ONLY when, the Ammo, NitrItes and NitrAtes all read zero?

I only ask, because it seems that Ammonia and NitrIte spike and return to zero quickly, while NitrAtes seem to take much longer. Just wanna make sure I start this tank correctly.

 

[mandy21]

nitrates will keep rising. the ammonia and nitrites should be at zero. the nitrates are what need to physically be removed/diluted by doing the water changes. A tank is done cycling when ammonia and nitrites have been at zero (I make sure they are at 0 for a week to ensure it's not doing something funky) and the nitrates are measurable.

In other words, waste in form of ammonia and is converted over to nitrites. Nitrites are converted over to nitrates and nitrates are then lowered by doing water changes.

 

[-Nemo-]

if the rotting critters that died on the rock decay and raise ammonia, why do you add ammonia to the tank? how does that work to help cycle it?