Why am I not seeing any Ammonia?

[Aqualis]

Ok so, maybe I am trying to rush things, but why is it that I would not be seeing ammonia by now? I have a 55gal tank with 35lbs of cured LR with 6 damsels (yes, I know that I should have used shrimp). This tank has been running like this since 13Feb. I have been working under the assumption that I should be well into my Nitrite spike by now, but alas, I have seen nothing. Then again, this might be a good thing. Maybe the rock is doing its job.

Also, I have a nice layer of brown algae over everything. I have cut back on my lighting, and I am assuming that my phosphates are high. Is there any way to remove them from your water, or do I need to get a better purifier?

TIA

 

[fishfreek]

35lbs of cured LR

Thats the exact reason your not seeing ammonia. Have you tested for nitrates? I suspect you should over time see your nitrates start to climb. Increasing nitrates will tell you that ammonia is being converted to nitrite and then ultimatly nitrate.

Is this algae kind of powdery or slimy and does it cover things like a blanket? If its slimy and covers like a blanket then its cyano. If its not slimy then its most likly diatoms and diatoms are not uncommon in new tanks. Cyano would be present with an overabundance of nurents and can be syphoned out of the tank

 

[Phyl]

If you're just cycling your tank Diatoms are a natural part of the process. Don't worry about them and they'll go away on their own (2 days - 2 weeks). How often are you feeding your fish? What kind of test kits are you using? For the sake of your damsels I'm glad you're not seeing an ammo spike! I'd give the tank another 2 or 3 weeks before adding anything new to the tank just in case!

 

[Aqualis]

Nope, I'm not seeing Nitrates either. But, correct me if I understand wrong, isn't it best to keep those low too?

As far as the algae, it looks powdery (i guess). I just went and looked at the tank again, and the brown is going away and being replaced with a light green. I don't have a clue.

If my levels are all still 0, would I be able to add a few snails to help clean my tank? I should I hold off.

And please forgive my newbiness, what is cyanobacteria?

 

[malkore]

You want nitrates low, yes, but if the tank has all the necessary bacteria, then you should be seeing nitrates. Ammona converts to Nitrite which converts to Nitrate. Nitrate is slowly removed by anaerbic bacteria in a deep sand bed, or deep within your live rock. However with 35lbs of rock ina 55gallon, you're short on live rock, so you should definitely see nitrates rise IF you are cycled.

I'd hold off on snails...they can be more sensitive to nitrites than fish.

Cyanobacteria is fed by excess phosphates. It looks like a velvety red/reddish black blanket, and is not pretty.