Did I start Cycling yet?

[aquacat]

My 36g tank is a week old today. I started up the tank with 40lbs of CC and 36lbs of LFS cured LR that I was told 24 of those pounds they had just recieved and they put it in a holding tank. My current readings have not changed very much from when I first added the LR. Here are my current readings.
PH - 7.8
Ammonia - 0.25
Nitrite - 0.25
Nitrate - 5.0
SG/Salinity - 1.023
Temp - 80 degrees
Is my tank showing any signs of starting a cycle? If not how long will it take to see a spike and then how long after that spike should the levels go down if indeed it does spike.

 

[johnzo]

well you could throw in a raw shrimp to jump start the cycle... you will see a good spike in the amonia after that... then you will know for sure it has started.

 

[aquacat]

I was trying to avoid the shrimp method to illevate any strong odor that might emit from the tank. My question though is...Does my tank in your opinion show signs of any type of cycle from the readings I have recorded?

 

[pclown]

Yes I would say that you are on your way. If you do put a small piece of shrimp in there that wont cause any big odor problem.
I cycled using uncured LR and LS. It took me about 4 weeks.