started my cycle

I have read so many ways to cycle and what equipment to have running or not, so just thought I would tell you my situation and get some opinions here.

I wanted to go ahead and start my cycle in the fuge now so when I added my dry rock and sand to the dt i would have a jump on it. I added a shrimp to the fuge 48hrs ago and got a 3-1/2 lb of lr at the lfs. I have 10lbs of dry (soaked first) in the fuge also to get more area for bacteria to grow, total of 13 lbs rock. Not really seeing any levels come up yet and the shrimp is definitly decaying. A little odor from the underside of the lr but nothing major there, lfs only 15 min away and was in water. I did have my skimmer running till 1 hr ago and my 2x 25w 6500k fuge bulbs were burning 24/7 till the same hr ago. Maybe there is enough bacteria on the lr to take care of the nh4 so far and i'm seeing some red dots (sponge?) and pink coraline on the dry start to take place.

I've read lr only and no shrimp as die off starts the cycle, I've read use both. Seems to me the more nh4 you have the more benificial bacteria will grow but I may be wrong there.
I read take the shrimp out shortly after it starts to decay then read leave it in.
I've read start the cycle with skimmer running then read it slows down the cycle by skimming the protiens needed.
I've read run lights 24/7 for the coraline to grow then read only run them 3-4 hrs a day to start with as it promotes algea growth which I know is a fact.
It seems the one thing nobody does is do a water change untill after the ph4 starts to lower.
Any opinions are welcome and appreciated about my cycle and idea to start now in the fuge for dt later, I am patient and maybe just needs time but with so many things I've read, researched, and asked over the last 6-7 months I guess I would just throw this out there to see.

Thank you

 

First, welcome to the hobby & the forum by the way.

How big is your DT and how much overall rock are you planning to add (both fuge & dt).

I left the shrimp in for about 48 hours before I took it out. About the length of time it took it to get a little fuzzy.

I went the Algae scrubber method so I cant really comment on the skimmer portion, but I wouldnt see why letting it run if there is nothing for it to filter more or less.

Lights, yes I have read alot of different opinions there. My personally I had them running on a normal daytime schedule & reverse cycle for the scrubber but I did that more or less for the scrubber to get it going.

I think I did my first water change about 2 1/2 week in once the everything cycled up and down and the nitrates came back down. I think thats pretty much the hobby standard.

 

75g dt with 100lbs dry to seed, the rock and sand (dry) is all I need to start the dt. The fuge will probably remain at 13-15lbs, just a place for snails, pods, and crabs to make a club house.

 

I used cured LR from PA and never even saw a cycle at all even when adding fish -- never saw any ammonia or nitrites.

 

Yeah and the dry is suppose to be cleaned "professionally" what ever that means but says it will not cause a spike. I'm pretty sure I will see some, in fact I want to see some so I know I went through it for peace of mind.