need some help

[stitch]

Just started a saltwater tank, and i know I have made some mistakes, but so far, thankfully, there has been no lose of life.
I have a 72 gallon AGA reef ready tank, an Amiracle wet dry filter, and a Nautalis te skimmer.
I set up my tank two weeks ago. I used 40 lbs of live sand, and 40lbs of regular sand as substrate. After two days I added two green chromis to cycle the tank. I know that's bad. After one or two days the Ammonia spiked to .25 then went back to zero. I never got the high spike. Nitrites stayed at 0. After a week of zero readings I got anxious and added 2 clowns, the ones with 3 stripes, and one scooter blenny. I know this wasn't too bright. The ammonia spiked to .25 again, but leveled to zero.
Today is day 4 after the new addittions. My ammonia spiked to somewhere between .25 and .50, and my water became a bit cloudy. So I went and bought a protein skimmer, the nautilis te. The lfs I bought the original setup from told me I didn't need one. I also bought a Cycle chemical to try to bring the ammonia down.
My fish all appear to be fine. They are behaving well, and eating well. My skimmer is making a terrible gargling noise, that only goes away if I plug the air tube, which i know I'm not supposed to do. Is this noise normal? Will it eventually go away? It's been about an hour, my water is cloudier, and there is no foam built up in the skimmer yet, although the water is very murky in the skimmer. Is this normal?
I know i got anxious, but I'm hoping my live sand helped quickly cycle my tank. I don't want to kill any fish. It's not a money issue. I would just feel horrible about it. Any help would be appreciatted.

 

[thomas712]

You really seem to be jumping the gun here and moving to fast. slow down, way down. The cycle can take up to 4 or 5 weeks depending on how you cycle, it can also be shorter.
The live sand can help with a shorter cycle but that many fish is way too soon, your stressing the system before it can catch up.
Your skimmer usually needs a break in time of a couple of weeks before it really starts to produce anything. Given that your tank is new there may be nothing to skim right now.
That cloudiness could be an ammonia spike.
The scooter blenny could not make it at all with the specialized diet it has.
I would like to give you a list of books to look up.
Book of Coral Propagation, Volume 1: Reef Gardening for Aquarists - Anthony Rosario Calfo
Reef Fishes Volume 1 - Scott W. Michael
Corals: A Quick Reference Guide (Oceanographic Series) - Julian Sprung
A Commonsense Handbook for Successful Saltwater Hobbyists - Robert M. Fenner
The New Marine Aquarium: Step-By-Step Setup & Stocking Guide - Michael S. Paletta
Aquarium Corals : Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History - Eric H. Borneman
Natural Reef Aquariums: Simplified Approaches to Creating Living Saltwater Microcosms - John H. Tullock
Aquarium Corals by Eric H. Borneman,
Natural Reef Aquariums by John H. Tullock, Martin A. Moe
The New Marine Aquarium by Michael S. Paletta,
The Conscientious Marine Aquarist is a very good book to start with.
Thomas
meet on the level? part on the square?

 

[stitch]

I know I've jumped the gun, just trying to make the best of a bad situation. I don't think the cloudiness is a spike. The ammonia actually has gone down to between 0 and .25.
Is the gurgling in the skimmer normal and will it go away?

 

[karajay]

Welcome to swf.com
I don't know about skimmers. But if you can run some carbon in your filter, it might clear up your water.
Have you done a water change at all yet?

 

[thomas712]

Originally posted by Stitch
Is the gurgling in the skimmer normal and will it go away?
Sorry, although I do know what that skimmer is and looks like I have never used one. I would start a thread entiled "Nautilus protein skimmer" and see if you can find someone with experience on them. Or do a seach on the board for someone who has posted about them.
Thomas

 

[stitch]

I did a 20% water change 2 days ago. That helped bring the ammonia back to zero.
Everything I've read says that you should see a substantial spike in the first week, especially with fish in the tank. The live sand advertises that it does an "instant" cycle, but I find that hard to believe. Maybe they're right. The fish seem fine, and the blenny is eating brine shrimp.
Nice sig thomas. I went through the first degree two weeks ago.

 

[karajay]

Originally posted by Stitch
The fish seem fine, and the blenny is eating brine shrimp.

Keep a close eye on them, and keep us posted.
Although it's good that your blenny eats , brine shrimp is pretty void of nutrients. Over the long term, it will not suffice.

 

[thomas712]

Kinda had that feeling. Most of the guys in your profesion in many towns are.
Wish I could have answered your skimmer question my young apprentice.
Keep me posted on the tank, we will help all we can. Questions anytime.
Thomas - raised in 94.

 

[stitch]

Thanks for the info. The blenny also picks up the occassional flake that one of the Chromis miss. I also see him frequently eating from the sand bed. I don't know if anything has grown from the LS yet.
This is a great site. I've gotten quite a bit of info here. It's a shame I didn't find it until this weekend.

 

[lesleybird]

I hope what you added is some Cycle liquid bacteria culture. That is what you need. Is that what you meant by cycle chemical?

 

[stitch]

Yes, that is what I added

 

[stitch]

As of this morning, readings are back at zero. The tank is still cloudy, but it seems to be cloudy from thousands of tiny bubbles. The protein skimmer is still making a gargling noise.