cycling.... few questions

[Aquattro]

Then, as mentioned, you should have just added a bit (or a dead shrimp) to get things going. Right now you're elevating levels way above what they need to be, and if you've converted that much NH3 into NO3, youhve plenty of bacteria now. Back off adding anything, let NH3 and NO2 drop to 0, do some water changes to lower NO3 and add maybe a couple of hermits, or your first small fish.