Tank's almost cycled...what do I need now?

Thanks for the repplies guys! Ok, I have noticed something...my Nitrite and Nitrate have started to drop, pH has increased, but Alk is way high...any ideas why the Alk has sky rocketed? (3.6)

BluePhish...I haven't added anything to my tank. I only have 18 lbs of LR, the rest was dead lace rock..about 32lbs. I also have 40 lbs of LS. The only thing I added, recently, was Seachem's Stability, and it has, in my opinion, helped with the cycle...it's basically bacteria....Another thing, and I'm not sure if this even made a difference or if it's just a fluke....I started using a Remora skimmer las Saturday, my water doesn't smell, and a few days later it's when I started noticing changes in the water paramaters...I had a diatom breakout after only 2 weeks, but I'm such a noob that I added uncured live rock to my tank that late into the whole cycling, so i backtracked myself there...after 4 weeks though, the diatoms can be seen on the rocks, sand, glass, etc....I'm gonna let it run for another 2-3 weeks before I add anything


The Alk being so high though...really throwing me off here. Any ideas?

 

yeah very similar setup,even with the amount of live rock and sand, i used tufa as my base, and i diy my skimmer.
Any one know what kind of snail this is? it hitch hiked on my rock and i just noticed it came out once the diatoms started to appear. he is very small.

 

i can't see the colors well.if its black with yellow rings then its a bumble bee snail.

 

its actully black with white stripes, im just hoping its not one of the poisionous kind.
why did you say with regular water changes i may never have too add supplements, are the elements in the salt mix. can you elaborate please.

 

IMO looks like a Nodilittorina pyramidalis= Periwinkle Snail. Is it eating the diatoms? If it is...I really think it could be a Periwinkle...not poisonous.

 

well most sw mixes already have all the things your reef tank needs in it,and if you do regular water changes then the elements will always be there.with the bigger tanks,especially well stocked sps tanks,you need to add stuff.i mean how many people are doing a 30% water change in a 180 gallon tank every 3 or 4 wks?by the way your snail looks like a bumblebee snail to me and from what i know,they are preditory and they feed off of tiny worms and such.they sell for $3 a snail at most places,i would'nt worry about it.i think they are in the nassarious family.

 

Any ideas why my Alk is so high? 3.6