Tank in 7th week

34 gallon tank ( redseamax) w stock skimmer/carbon/ceramic bio media

Temp stable at 80.5
SG 1.025-1.026 about halfway
Ammonia still .25ppm steadily for weeks
Nitrite still at .1ppm also steady in time
Nitrate not detected
PH 8.2
Alk 2.5-2.8

I have about 40 pounds of live rock that must have had some sponges as well as some small clams/scallops embedded in it. Pretty much curing in the tank. I believe most of it has been eaten away. I am starting to see it color up with purple/pink/green.

The water conditions have not been improving as yet..

My cycleing is obviosly not done but i have a crew of hermits and a couple snails. Also 6 hardy fish. Everyone in tank seems fine but water conditions suck due to my haste.
I have been feeding sparingly.

Questions...
Should i reduce the bio load in order to Allow cycle to progress?
I have added a shot of bacteria from a bottle about a week ago but that did not seem to stablize anything.

I have also been blowing the crud off rocks with turky baster regularly... Should i do that?

And also cleaning blooms off of glass??

I did a couple of 5g changes early on as i figured there was too much stuff on the rocks and i didnt want a toxic tank...

All my fiddling had kept my fish happy but has not allowed the tank to mature fully.
Been waiting for ammonia and nitrite to go away... No luck yet.
And i am confused by the lack of nitrate .

Any comments or suggestions??

 

The additive is nutrifin "cycle" , and i have dosed it twice.

 

Midwayman
used Cycle myself to assist with maturing when I set up my 5 gallon nano
its a good product IMO

6 hardy fish in a 34 gallon - what types of fish are they?

you might run into issues as they grow, territoriality, oxygen depletion etc
IMHO removing 2 or 3 of those fish will certainly help

6 fish require food and thus create a lot of waste
they are probably creating waste far quicker than bacteria can deal with at present

that combined with die off from the live rock , will explain your parameter issues

the brown stuff could be diatoms and they are common in new set ups , and last until the silicates are all used up

I would reduce the bio load , for the sake of the long term health of your fish, rather than just for the short term parameter/ cycle issues

Steve

 

The fish in the tank are
2 yellow tail damsel
A scooter blenny... Just found source for live copapods ... M hoping to have a few survive to populate
2 4 line damsel fish
And a royal gamma.

Do you think they might outgrow the tank??
I think territory has been worked out but there do seem to be some disputes... I will put some serious thought into putting a couple in the lfs tanks again.

I do want a clown when things get better., m fond of scooter blenny/dragonnete and royal gamma
Wanted to also have a shrimp and flame goby ... M i asking for too much out of 34 gallons?
Maybe just a clown ??

 

Midwayman
its the Damsels that are the most worrying IME
they can get real aggresive as they grow and in small space they can bully to death new inmates
swapping them out to make room for others is an option IMO

Steve

 

Yes i agree.. The blues challenge everyone... I think they are brow beating the four lines..
I will try taking them out and see if the four line goes for alpha position.

Good news on the cycle, i corrected some blockage in the media chambers and media bags... Flow is better and i added some more bacterial conditioners... Got some readings later and things are progressing

 

That is quite a few fish for so soon. =/. And like what Steve said, the bioload is so high that the bacteria has yet to catch up. For my 46gal I didn't put a YT damsel in till 3 weeks in, and it was only 1 and that helped speed the cycle a bit, but it was done by about 5-6 weeks so sounds like it will only be a matter of time. If you can get rid of some of the fish it would only speed things up.

And yes YTs are jerks. I've had one for 8 months and I'm upgrading and he's going back to the store for the stress he's caused my cleaner shrimp and clown. If you think the YTs will calm down, they probably will not, but their bark is bigger than the bite(you might know as mine def bites me haha) so if you don't bring them back, the fish will probably not die as a result of the harassment, but its an unfriendly environment.