Wow, what a puzzle.
This was one of those puzzles that I had several revelations about :p
Started using the quicksilver input often, ended up with around 55 cycles(submitted as showcase). Then crazyBot suggested to ditch metal promotion all together and use earth so i don't have to pass waste through conduits. ended up with 44 cycles.

After that, i had the idea of starting off the zig with a extra pair of elements, so the conduits are not suppressed for as long, which got me down to 43

Then, improved on right chamber latency, down to 42.

Then, finally, thought about getting an extra salt from the quicksilver input, getting me down to 40.

Prediction is gonna be top 8. winning solve is gonna be at 35.