Cycling a used Aquarium

Question
I recently bought a used biocube 14 gallon aquarium from a local pet store 3 days ago. It had used filter media and all the bacteria still on the bioballs. I added 1 pound of live rock and 3 inches worth live crushed coral. I have no test strips since i was broke so i plan on having it checked by a fish store. I do however have a hydrometer and it bounces between 1.024 and 1.026 which is high and i have no reason why. And I want to know since everything is basically used and already has bacteria colonies in the filter how long will it take to fully cycle?

Answer
You may see a cycle quicker than normal due to the established bacteria in the filtration, however, depending on the condition of the live rock you added, it may still take some time to stabilize. Your best course of action will be to add some nutrients to the system and test after about a week to see if the filtration can process it. If your tests return any level of either ammonia or nitrite, wait another week and repeat your tests. If your test return no ammonia or nitrite, but some levels of nitrate, you should be safe to begin adding livestock.