Need help with cycling my tank please

[reddevil329]

Hi,

I have set up a 58 gallon tank 1 week ago. I have live sand, 50lb of live rock(all fully cured), coralife super skimmer, marineland filter C-36, two powerheads,

I added three damsels in.

I have been testing the water everyday.

salinity- 1.025
water temp- 82
Ph-8.5
ammonia-0
nitrite-0
nitrate-0

Is this normal? When will i get an ammonia spike?

I have added cycle solution and conditioner the first day. Will add weekly.

Kent marine nano reef everyday for ion buffer and Ph buffer.

I hope this is enough information for my tank.

 

[tentacles]

Get those damsels out of there, you should never cycle a tank with a living creature.

 

[InfernoST]

+1. What She said.

Get some uncooked shrimp from your local fish monger put them in a media bag and toss them in the tank and sit back. It wont take too long to see your ammonia start to rise, there always is a possibility you won't see a cycle if your LR has been fully cured but the chances are slim.

 

[reddevil329]

Thank you for the quick reply. I will return the damsels to my LFS. I still don't understand why do I have no ammonia at all now.

 

[tentacles]

+1. What he said.

*She

 

[InfernoST]

*She

Ooops, sorry Ma'am. :lol:

 

[InfernoST]

Thank you for the quick reply. I will return the damsels to my LFS. I still don't understand why do I have no ammonia at all now.

Put the shrimp in, if you don't get any ammonia readings in a couple of days it is possible you LR already has enough nitrifying bacteria. Word of advise, nothing good happens quick in this hobby, patience will be the key to your success.

 

[IamRobG]

My tank did the same thing, very similar set up. I had almost no ammonia spike for about 2 weeks, then out of nowhere it came and went. Almost 3 months now and all my levels are perfect and all my fish are healthy. Will be adding coral in about a month

 

[bigdog1428]

each tank is different ,,,,add a piece of shrimp from the supermarket ,,and let it decompose in ur tank,,,,and test regurlarly

 

[reddevil329]

thank you all for your advice

 

[nittinid]

Turn off your skimmer... You need to build up as much bacteria as possible...your skimmer will filter the bacteria into its cup and not in the tank where you need it..

 

[reddevil329]

i got the damsels out and got myself some frozen shrimp in the tank. My ammonium is about 0.25 now. no nitrite or nitrate still.

However this morning when i was testing the water again. My live rock and live sand has partly turned brown?

is this an diatom bloom? how do I solve it?

Thanks in advance

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

take your time, i had it in the bag as well then suddenly i put in 2 pieces of rock that had not been cured and the brown monster was born causing a very big eyesore of a cycle that is finaly going away thank aquarium god!!, be easy and this tank will come full circle for ya bro im in my 3rd month and i have acan and hammer coral in there and its thriving under my led lighting.