Tank has cycled...in 13 days?!?

Everything I know about freshwater tells me this doesn't make sense. But all my tests are telling me that it has. I am using API master test kit.


10 Gallon Tank
Started the cycle 13 days ago.
Added 15 lbs of live sand(took out 3-5lbs a few days ago because I didn't like how deep the sand was...still want to eventually remove a little more).
Added 16.4 lbs of live rock.
Added 4 large flakes of fish food twice a day everyday.
Ran the temperature at 86 deg(as high as it would go to cycle faster).

Now I'm not really sure what to do. I think I'll let it go another day or two just to make sure my readings are all still at 0 before I even think about adding anything. But I'm slightly confused because most things says 3-6 weeks at least to cycle.

This being said...when I am confident it's truly been cycled what should I add next?

I though it would make sense to add 1-2 snails to increase bio-load. However, there is no algae in this environment at all. Nitrates are now around 40 ppm and I have been running my LED lights for 3 days now(figured if there was any algae I would get a bloom by now) from 7 am to 7 pm. However, I figure if I add snails they will have no algae to eat. Which makes me think I should add a cheap fish like a damsel but last thing I want is to increase the bio load too much and kill/stress a fish.

I don't know if I should do something as stupid as add a more manageable algae so I can add a small CUC of snails(figure 2-4 snails).


My overall end goal is 1-2 clownfish(if I can find someone local who has naturally small clowns I'll get 2 otherwise I guess just 1). Also want as many corals as they tank will allow.


There is a picture of what it looks like right now.

 

Looks great.

If you want hermits you can add a couple. They are easier to feed then snails and provide some comic relief. Just feed them a tiny amount of food daily and keep testing the water parameters.

Your algae blooms have not occurred yet.

I would however do a small water change to get those nitrates down a tad.

 

Let me first off say I am an avid fisherman and upland game hunter so I have no problems killing animals to eat. This being said I was truly appalled by what I just witnessed.

Ok...so I decided to go to Petco since they are about 10 minutes closer than my LFS to get 2 blue hermit crabs(also because no one at the LFS ever comes up to me to ask me if I need help). After looking at their crabs (they had regular, red legged and blue legged) I noticed they had a lot of re legged hermit crabs and couldn't seem to find any blue legged hermit crabs. I got the help of an employe (who I later learned had only been working there for 4 days) she tried to help me find some blue legged crabs in the tank. She picked up rocks and was somewhat careful for the red pistol shrimp and other fish in the tank she was looking in. She said she wasn't sure about the blue legged crabs so she would get her manager because she would probably know more. Well her manager arrived and "helped" find a blue legged hermit crab. In doing so she littely picked up the rock in the tank and tossed if from one side to the other side of the tank with no regard to the fish/inverts in the tank. In the process she managed to squish some sorry of flat looking fish and crushed the pistol shrimp. She continued to toss around the rocks until she finally found one small blue legged hermit crab(which I purchased). While waiting for her to put it in a bag I happened to look in another tank they had farther down to only see a one beautiful black clown fish that had all of it's fins missing because another black clown fish was harassing it(I pointed this out to her). She stated they got their fish in yesterday. I have never been so appalled by someones lack of care for something in my life. On the way hope I though I should have offered her $5 for the clown fish because it looked like it was going to die anyways(assuming they didn't throw it away after I left). I have never been one to boycot a store but I guarantee that this petco will never see me again. Just wondering if this is something you have all experienced or this just a really bad incident? Guess I'll have to go to my LFS tomorrow and get another blue legged hermit crab so he has a friend.

 

Unfortunately in some of the big chain stores they don't give their employees the proper training in caring for their animals. It happens a lot, but some actually have some good people working in them. I just don't go to the ones like you described.

 

I don't think that you even need proper training it's called common sense...if you see there are live animals in a tank you don't throw around rocks that could crush/kill them. You wouldn't throw around a chair around in a room if a puppy was on the floor.

 

That story makes me sick. And a manager at that. I would call corporate and complain, theres just no reason for stuff like this to be going on in the big box stores or any store for that matter. I wouldn't be shopping there anymore.

 

Completely agree. Disgusting. Name and shame. Not enough bad practice is brought to the surface.

 

You're gonna derail your own thread into a petco bashing. I have seen fish stores with employees just as ignorant. It happens in every job field. The petco's in this area have improved immensely and were even better than the 2 LFS i visited today and one of them was suposedly a specialty store. Thats why they had 3 triggers in one tank nipping it out and a rotting tang in a tank with two lions

 

And we all know what happens to large pet store bashing threads.

 

play nice