Ok i need real opinons!! Please lol

[RICH305]

Ok I am going to tell you guys everything I did since I started my sw aquarium..
March 2 I filled up the tank with water and a few pounds of life rock (maybe like ten pounds) and ran it for a week.
March 9 I got a pair of damels and forty more pounds of live rock.
March 19 I bought a yellow tang (my tank is not large enough for it so I have to get rid of it) and another small yellow and purple fish.
March 25 I started testing water for ammonia and been getting good results.
March 28 I bought 50 more pounds of live rock. And today is march 31 and I am still woundering if my tank has cycled!!!! Other live stock in the tank is like 30+ hermit crabs a couple of snails and that's about it...could it be possible that my tank has cycled...I kno I went about the whole cycle process the wrong way but this is my first tank and I was completely lost..... And opinions or facts you guys have???

 

[RICH305]

These are a few pics

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

It'd help if you told us what "getting good results" on the ammonia testing means. Like numbers.

If you don't have 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites, you aren't cycled.

If your live rock was cured and full of beneficial bacteria, you may not cycle at all and never see any ammonia and nitrites. If that's the case though, you should see your nitrates increasing. Have you been test those too? Have you seen them increase?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Just saw the picture of the ammonia test. I guess you meant "good" as in "I'm getting ammonia"... not "good" from a fish perspective.

So no... you're not cycled. Any ammonia means you're not there yet.

 

[RICH305]

Nope I have never checked the nitraites and nitrites....I was going by what the fish store was telling me -_- and the rocks I have gotten were from the store so I am guessing they are good rocks right?

 

[RICH305]

And brown spots are staring to appear on the glass

 

[Gti_Leo]

you do have a bit of ammonia in there which is possibly the die off from the rock you have. keep an eye on the aquarium and the fish. if you keep seeing ammonia and no nitrates then you're still in the cycle phase and are puttign those fish through alot of stress

 

[austinsdad]

Is the tang gone?

 

[RICH305]

Is the tang gone?

Nope not yet I am giving it to my boy 2morrow this is his tank

 

[mr_X]

you might have been getting to the end of your cycle, but i believe the 50 pounds of rock set you back a bit. i would get the tang out asap and let the tank sit for a couple weeks, periodically testing for ammonia, nitrite..

 

[RICH305]

How will I get ammonia without fish?

 

[mr_X]

well, the 50 pounds of uncured rock will have a lot of dead/decaying matter on it and that will cause the ammonia spike.

 

[Smitty]

Plus didn't you list 2 damsels? I wouldn't recommend those fish for the tank and wouldn't recommend using any fish for a cycle, but if you already have them then they would provide a source of ammonia, you will just have to do a lot of water changes to keep the ammonia down and keep it from killing the fish.

You can take all the fish out and put in some pure ammonia (no additives) or some raw shrimp and that would help, but you also have CUC in the tank...