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Raw shrimp did the trick for me.

I'm not sure "worried" is the right word. I would go with a combination of excited/impatient.

That's the kit that I have. It's the most inexpensive that I've seen and it seems to be just fine. The only problem I'm having is that I'm going blind trying to match the colors on the cards to the colors in the tubes. It's very difficult to tell the difference sometimes.

That was my intention, but I was expecting to see at least a little movement in the nitrates/nitrites by now. I guess I'm just being impatient. I don't have a skimmer yet, I can't remember if that has anything to do with removal of nitrates/nitrites. I don't think it does.

I am in the middle of my cycle. I got an ammonia spike after about 2 days (4.0 ppm), and then a few days later the nitrate and nitrite went up (NO2 = >5.0 and NO3 around 40). The problem that I'm having is that these levels haven't changed at all in like 10 days. The ammonia level has been at 0...

I am in the middle of my cycle Ammonia: 0 Nitrates: 20 Nitrites: Off the charts When should I start to think about getting a clean-up crew? Should the tank have to be completely cycled?

My main tank is almost done cycling, that's why I wondered if I could use pre-cycled water from the main tank to use in the QT.

I think that's what I'm going to go with.

My tank is almost finished cycling. Should I use already-cycled water from the tank to start a QT, or should I just use new water and do frequent water changes?

As an added question... what is the best way to raise pH a little? Baking soda? pH buffer? How much should be added to raise the pH in a 55 gal. from 8.0-8.2?

Sweet... they were getting pretty rank.

So once the ammonia has spiked (mine's around 2.0) it's time to remove the raw shrimp?

It's a 55 gal... yes, 3 whole shrimp, and then 3 more. I'm not exactly sure what she was thinking by adding the other 3, but I'm sure it was something along the lines of, "I'm just trying to help."

I just started my cycle yesterday with some cocktail shrimp. I put 2-3 pieces in, and then later my girlfriend did the same thing. Does anyone think this overabundance of rotting shrimp could cause a problem? I could easily get some of it out if necessary.

Incredibly helpful... thank you very much.

Crushed coral v. sand... What are the benefits and drawbacks of each? Which is the more popular choice aesthetically? Can I have a base of CC and sand on top or will that just look "tacky?" --55gal in the very preliminary aquascaping stages.

The limestone that I got looks really great, but the best part was that I got 300 lbs from a local quarry.... $2.70... not a pound... total. Made my day. I'm excited to get it in the tank, but I wanted to make sure I cleaned it properly.

I have some marine limestone that I'm going to use for base rock. Is it ok to soak it in tap water, or should I use filtered? Also... for a FO setup with no special lighting will live sand be beneficial at all? I'm really leaning toward not getting any.

I haven't had much luck finding a DI only filter setup.

I haven't had much luck finding a DI only filter setup. How are they different from the faucet-style "brita" type filters?