Cycling interrupted??

So I am about 7 weeks into my cycle. I started with 50 lbs of live rock and then a couple weeks later added 100 lbs more. I also put a yellow tail damsel in about 2 weeks ago. It was looking good. Amm. and Nitrite went up and started coming down and then Nitrates went up to about 40. I was even getting a good diatom bloom. It seems now that AMM and Nitrite have stalled just above 0. Amm is like barely measureable and Nitrite is about .1 to .2. Anything I can do to get these to 0? It has been like this for a week now. So is more patience the key still? Should I run my skimmer? Should I start using the lighting? They have remained off for the most part during the cycling. I also have a fuge on standby. I have a few more mods to make to it before I add it though. thanks for your help guys...

 

Was there a source of ammonia before you put the Damsel in?
Don't run the skimmer yet.

 

Every time you added rock, and when you added the YTD, you completely restarted the cycle. All of that should really be added at the get-go. You need to figure on starting your cycling period over from day 1 from the last time you added anything.

 

Ok thanks guys. No there was no source of ammonia before the YT. I added aragonite sand. About 1 1/2 inches. Added some live sand from my other tank to seed it and the live rock. I will just wait it out and not run skimmer and no lights right??

Thanks again...

Also the PH is a bit low at 7.9 Is this normal because of the stage the tank is at or should I do something to bump it up?

 

The cycle never stops. It reaches an equilibrium, though, based on the bio load of the system. This equilibrium balances out the bacteria needed to turn the available ammonia to nitrites and nitrites to nitrates. When you add any type of bioload to the system, you've shifted the system out of equlibrium. The bacteria have to reproduce to larger populations so that equilibrium can once again be established.

 

The rock and sand are a source of ammonia in themselves. No matter where they came from, cured or not, there will be some die off. Specially when you add 100 pounds of it to an already running tank. Thats a massive amount. Even 5 pounds would be enough to re-start the cycle. It would be best to start counting from zero days again starting from the last day you added anything. Wait another 8-12 weeks from there. JMHO

Edit: Yes, you should get the PH up!

 

Hi nc, all the advice so far is correct with one little exception, I see no disadvantage to running the skimmer and in fact now is the time to start running it.

 

Live rock and sand produces it's own ammonia but it's a much slower road.
Different things make the cycle longer or shorter.
Boost the temperature up and the bacteria will grow faster. Normal cycle is about a month.
And that is about what mine took.
A Typical Break-In Cycle

 

skimmer will slow down your cycle. won't hurt anything just takes out elements that things like coraline need to grow.