Whats the deal?

[justinx]

So I started my tank about three weeks ago, put aragonite and saltwater in there along with an uncooked shrimp from the deli. Took out the shrimp the next day and added 15lbs LR. Dont know about cured/uncured. Anyway, the tank smelled like he!! for the next day and the smell went away. Then two weeks after it started i added two juvenille (about 1") false percs. It has now been a week since i added fish, and three weeks total up and running. Here are my stats:
ammonia 0
nitrItes 0
nitrAtes 0
pH 8.2
I am yet to see any kind of spike at all in anything. I have been testing daily for a week, and have seen no spike. I didnt have a test kit until about a week and a half into the whole thing. I can figure only one of two things. Either i missed the cycle, or i am testing wrong. I use the fasTest master saltwater test kit for everything. Is my tank don cycling? BTW, i have a couple polyps that came on the rock that are wide open, and some macro is growing as well.

 

[shadow678]

Ok, several questions. As golfish asked, what size tank do you have? 15lbs of rock is extremely low for anything other than a nano. How much sand did you put in? Also, where did you get your rock, and was it cured or uncured at purchase? If it was cured, you won't see any spikes. It it was uncured, I would say at 3 weeks old you may not be testing properly. My suggestion would be to take the perculas back and get enough rock to make it 1.5lbs or rock per gallon of water, toss a couple of shrimp in and wait 5 weeks, as the average tank cycle is 4-6 weeks. Also, what type of filtering system are you using? Please take your time, rushing can be VERY costly in the long run, as you will have many problems that could easily have been avoided.

 

[justinx]

Well, I have a 20H tank, 15lbs LR and about 10lbs base rock, about 35lbs LS from the display tanks at the lfs, and i have had my water tested by a lfs and there numbers match mine, so i am doing the testing part right, i dont know. I dont plan on adding anything right now as far as live stock goes, but i am doing an upgrade on lighting. Other than that i am going to leave it alone.