I am currently cycling a 5 gallon Marineland Hex 5 for crystal red shrimp. I have purchased Fluval Stratum for the substrate and have added a couple of nerite snails to get things going. I am using RO water and will add GH+ before adding shrimp. Now I am finally getting ammonia readings to show up. I just need to wait for things to mature. What are your opinions about adding shrimp the first of the year if the cycle completes itself and all levels have been adjusted to their proper ranges? Thanks.