cycle complete?

[freeride7]

Been cycling my 55 Gal. for 2 1/2 weeks now. Contains 40# LR and a 3 inch SB. I started with 2 raw shrimp and they remained in the tank and decomposed to nothing.
After about a week I had high nitirites for a few days, then nothing.
I have been testing every other day for the past week and all levels are as follows:
PH 8.2
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
Ammonia - 0
I have some hair algae developing on one of my rocks, starting to spread, also have diatoms, and also brown algae starting to grow everywhere ( glass, filter outlets e.t.c)
I would like to start a clean up crew, moderate for now, to start taking care of the mess.....is it safe to do so? Any feedback? Tank is starting to get ugly.

 

[marvida]

I think you're ready for a moderate cleanup crew. Go easy at first, even though your params are good, they are at a very "fragile" stage. They may change when you take your next step.
Good Luck!
Ken

 

[freeride7]

so a moderate clean up crew? I was thinking like 5-10 Scarlets, 5-10 blue leg hermits, 5-10 turbo snails......
Is this too much to start with, perhaps only 5 of each?

 

[nacl-man]

Did you notice an ammonia spike? High nitrities should signal that your ammonia spike has completed... make sure your trites and ammonia are both at 0 and your trates are hovering around 10ppm.... if they have been that way for a few days (or up to a week if you want to be safe) then add a moderate cleanup crew. Inverts are very susceptible to water chem flucuations so make sure your tank is realtively stable.
Don't worry about the mess... as soon as you are able to add a cleanup crew (even a moderate one) they will rip through all the gunk in just a few days! Good luck, and thanks for cycling with raw shrimp and not the dreaded damsel!
Cheers!
edit: just saw your reply. that looks like a good starting point... I would recomend doing a water change the day after you add your crew (just my opinion, i'm sure others would disagree)... and think about going with Astrea snails rather than the turbos. Your LFS will tell you turbos are better but IME they fall off the glass too much and you have to constantly reach into the tank (which should be avoided as much as possible) to put them back on the glass / rocks. Again, just my opinion.

 

[freeride7]

yah, my ammonia was up there for a while as well, but has since dropped down. Hopefully all is well. Suppose I could do a 15% water change now and wait it out for another week before adding the clean up crew??
They should have plenty of food by then.