New to this and need some good advice!

[frostymug]

I converted my freshwater tank to saltwater New Years Day. Since this is my first attempt at a SW tank I am doing a fish only. I have a 30 gallon eclipse system with the filter bio-wheel in the hood. I have 5 damsels in the tank to cycle, they have been in since 1/4/02.
My problem is that my tank won't cycle! My amm. went up a small amount(.25) then went back to zero, nitrites did the same. My nitrates have been at zero the whole time. It stayed this way for 2-3 more weeks so I thought the tank had cycled (this was before I found the board) and did a partial water change. I went to my LFS and they said the tank had not cycled and that I needed to be patient. Since then (going on a week and half) the ammonia has started going up (.25) and I have gotten some brown alge devolping on the glass and the coral. The fish are very healthy and active, so I am stumped! What am I doing wrong?!?!
Thanks in advance for any advice, I am new to this and want to make it work!
Sorry this seems like such a ramble, I just have tons of questions!

 

[phild]

Not that I am an expert, but it sounds like you are doing ok. (Shrimp would be better than the damsels, but I know I made that same mistake listening to the lfs.)
Are you using live rock as well? The algea you are seeing (diatoms) is a good thing I am told, as it shows your tank is doing something. This is normal.
The best advice I can give is search this board for cycles, read as much as you can, and *try* to be patient. I know it is hard!
Good luck!

 

[josh]

Hi,
Well it sounds like the fish just aren't cutting it. I would take them out and just add a piece of raw shrimp from the supermarket. This will break down and release ammonia which will kick start the cycle.
-Josh-

 

[thewolfman777]

no don't take the fish out for this reason, you may want to consider taking them out down the line because you are pretty much at full capacity for your size tank. i also converted from fresh to salt a while back and i have a 33 g. unfortunetly a swf tank is not as forgiving as a fwf tank especially at this size.
a quick tip i have learned through experience. take what the lfs guy tells you with a grain of "salt" (ha ha). they like to make money and their advice usually shows this. the damsels may not be a first choice for most to cycle a tank but they are definetly doing their job in creating ammonia which is what you need to start the cycle. i do need more info on your set up, i.e.: like if you added anything to the tank during the cycle, like l/r or additives(which the lfs will push on you), filtration, etc. do not do any water changes during the cycling process. this is one exception where not doing water changes is a good thing. also i am concerned that 5 damsels were a little too much to cycle with. 2-3 would have been better. remember, bring all questions here first. there are many knowlegable members that are always willing to lend a helping hand. i wouldnt say things are going wrong, just taking its time. diatoms are a very good sign of cycling going on in your tank. keep us posted and any more q's we will be glad to help you with

 

[mac]

What kind (and how much) substrate are you using, and do you have any live rock? (eg. 4 -6" of DSB, Crushed coral,...) The LR and substrate are necessary for the bacteria that you need to establish (aka cycle). Although some bacteria will establish itself on your filter media, this typically not a large enough area and can easily be disturbed resulting in the loss of your bacterial culture.

 

[rhomer]

This is a bit off topic, but phild where in Atlanta you from. Your the first other GA person posting that I've seen here.

 

[fshhub]

back to filtration, do you have a skimmer, if so, turn it off,
just cycling with fish, and nothing elses, can take a while(couple of months even), but it will happen, and do nothing to interrupt the cycle at all, do NOT use ammonia or nitrite or nitrate reducing addditives, do NOT do water changes, just let it take it's course, do NOT run a skimmer , things like that will only prolong the cycle, even if the ammonia goes sky hihg and high enough to kill everything(even the glass, LOL) do not interrupt it, the fish should be fine, and if not, they are the reason you bouthgt them(i prefer grocery shrimp) but this is why you bought damsels, not for the reason of populating the tank indefinitely

 

[stupid_naso]

Add lr and ls if you can, those can help the cycle too. I used BIOZYME in order to make my cycle goes faster. It worked for me, well at least for the initial spikes.
One thing, patience, be as patient as you can be. You will be happier in the future, believe me on this one. I learned it the hard way.
Good luck, and be patient...
sebae_the_clown

 

[frostymug]

Thank you everyone for the advice! My substrate is aruba shells, at least I think that was the name of it. It is crushed shells and coral from Aruba, the lfs said it would work well. As far as the damsels I would have much rather used the shrimp, but the lfs was where I got all the initial info. I don't have a skimmer, didn't even know you had to have one! I have a Rio powerhead so I know I have some of the right equipment.
This will sound like another novice question, but where should my temp. range be right now. It seems to be stuck on about 72. Should it be higher? If so I think I may need a little stronger heater.
Thanks again for the advice, I know I need it!

 

[frostymug]

Also, thewolfman777 I used an additive the lsf recomenned called PRIME. I hope that I haven't added something to slow the cycle down!! UGGHHH!! Way to much to learn!

 

[fshhub]

temp more depends on what you intend to keep, some species like it colder, and soem a bit warmer, most of us keep ours in the 75 to 82 degree range, mine is a bout 80-81, others like thiers about 78-79, but like i said, that is more dependent on what you wish to keep, some stuff may not do well in the higher range, but most will, and vice versa