I started a 2g jar build about ten days ago with live sand substrate, a couple of chunks of "seiryu" rock, and a couple of days later, three strands of halimeda (I wanted this to primarily be a macroalgae jar) and a DOA frag that didn't survive shipping. I've been testing parameters daily, and ammonia spiked at about 1.2 I didn't test nitrites and nitrates until today, as I thought there wasn't any point. Today's reading: ammonia and nitrites: 0; nitrates: 2. I'm suspicious, as I've never had anything cycle this quickly. Could the halimeda have disrupted the nitrogen cycle? Do I need to yank it out, or just keep testing? I suppose that I'll have to go to the market to pick up some shrimp, as I don't want to pee in the jar and don't have any ammonium chloride lying around. Is fast cycling possible without adding nitrifying bacteria?