No, the LR itself is cycling the tank. I was cycling with squid before adding the rock and my ammonia never went higher than 2ppm. The LR was cleaned before adding to the tank, but was uncured. It is curing in the tank. No foul odor is coming from the water, but my skimmer has pulled out some dark, smelly skimmate. The water is still nice and clear in the tank (no bacterial/algae blooms.) This is week 3 of the cycle, so ammonia levels should start to decline soon. Nitrites are slowly rising and Nitrates have skyrocketed.