Thanks, Pat. Interesting about the GH/KH. Looks like it took 3 drops with the API kit for KH so I think I'm in a good spot. Need to replace these though to be sure. In any case it will be awhile before I worry about breeding, which is good. (With surely get excited if that happens but no real space for grow out!)
I did a very small cleaning/mini water change last night but so far, so good as far as the mini-cycle goes. I have been expecting that, too, but I may have preempted it a little with a ton of biological media and some pretty liberal dosing of ammonia while the tank was empty. I will definitely keep an eye on them during the first substantial WC and see how they act. I have aged water in the past but don't have much room for the barrel and last I checked didn't have a pH swing. I do prefilter my tap water with a 1 micron sediment filter and a carbon filter. That has made a big difference in how my domestics reacted in the past. Here's hoping I can keep the barrel in the shed instead of the (small) laundry room...