Ammonia wont go away yet!

[gilly]

I have set up my tank for 3 weeks now with 25lbs of live rock in a 25 gallon tank. I want to the fish store and they said i have ammonia still. I have 3 damsels in the tank for a week now and it seems there very happy. Should i wait a bit longer for my tank to cycle? or is it even cycled yet?

[RMPD109]

If you are showing ammonia you are still in the first stage of cycling. The good thing is its the longest stage. My tank took 3.5 weeks to show an ammonia reduction and 3 days to get through the nitrate reduction. My cycle took just over 4 weeks. Be patient and wait until ammonia and nitrate are zero before adding anything to the tank.

[Bearfan]

Be patient and return the damsels. The LR is cycling your tank, all your doing with the damsels is putting them through great stress and reducing their life span.

[lando]

I agree, return the damsels. Was the LR cured before you put it in the tank? If so, you might want to do a water change to preserve any of the life on the LR. It may cause your cycle to be longer but you will save some of the life on the rock. It all just takes time...Lando