Doing something wrong?

[Shark_Party]

Hello!
Newbie here! This is my first marine aquarium after a long break from the aquarium hobby. I used to do freshwater when i was in high school but grew out of it because I was a lazy teenager back then.
I have been doing research galore about this hobby even before I bought anything to get started, to make sure that I've been going about this the right (patient) way.

My setup:

-36 gallon bowfront
-Fluval 70 gallon HOB filter
-150 watt heater set to 80
-Salinity is currently around 1.022-1.023
-Aquatop 660 circulation pump
-40 lbs of caribsea brand live sand
-About 22-25 lbs of caribsea "liferock" 1/3 of that is the painted/bacteria infused type of rock.
-some small dead corals that I was given to use in this tank that used to be in a friend's marine aquarium that hasn't been running for years now. (They don't even weight 1/2 lb)

Anyway, here is my question; Am I doing something wrong?

Here is why I think I might be; The tank has been set up and cycling for 2 weeks now. A couple of days after initial setup I went to my LFS to ask if there was anything else I should do to cycle the tank. Low and behold I ended up leaving there with 3 yellowtail damsels. So, I have live sand, live-ish rock, and fish to cycle with.

Only 1 of the damsels is still alive because he decided to kill his other tank mates. He seems to be a happy camper now though. Been told this is normal ish behavior for this fish though.

Tank has been cycling for 2 weeks. I have yet to see any algae, diatoms, or even color changes on any of the rocks.
I understand that it takes time, and am prepared to wait. Though with every other forum thread that I read, or video I watch, by this point in the cycle people seem to have one or both of these things happening/growing.

My ammonia and nitrites are already spiked up, so I know I need to do a water change soon.

Should I have diatoms or algae by now or is it good to not have them? I thought that the live sand would have been loaded with hitch hikers...
Is "liferock " not a good choice for cycling tanks?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Attatched a pic of my setup.

 

[Diesel]

You did everything right besides buying these poor damsels.
You could have test it by dosing a few drops of ammonia in the tank and see if the next day your ammonia level was down.
I guess you didn't read enough
That said how are your ammonia levels as we speak?

 

[Jason mack]

Are you testing the water ?? What are your parameters ,ammonia , nitrite , nitrate ?? I would read these ...
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-supreme-guide-to-setting-up-a-saltwater-reef-aquarium.138750/..
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/cycling-an-aquarium.306554/
It's never good cycling a tank with live stock !
Live rock is good .. all live rock /sand has bacteria living in /on them that's why we call it live ..
Your tank needs these bacteria too build up too cope with your future bio load .. you can help this along by adding good bacteria ..dr.tims or another sort .doesnt matter ..
But it will take a few weeks before you start too see anything happen .. cycling can take anything upto 10-12 weeks in some cases .. have patience.. it will cycle even if you do nothing ... take time too learn your test kits .. and research all you can sit back and enjoy .. it all just takes time .. lots of it and lots of patience.. nothing good happens fast in an reef aquarium

 

[Shark_Party]

I haven't tested the water in a week so I'm not sure, I'd have to get it tested again since I don't have a test kit yet.

The damsels I'm sure would have survived the water parameters as long as the one that's still alive didn't attack them to death. He is an butt of a fish but has quite the personality and fun to watch. He is healthy and happy by himself I guess.

 

[Jason mack]

The blue and yellow tail damsels are the #^*~ heads of the reef .. and can be very annoying.. better blue green chromis .. much better personality.. I have 6 of them in my tank

 

[Shark_Party]

I understand that live rock and live sand is "live" with good bacteria. I however have "Life-rock" the man made caribsea brand of live rock but am not sure if it is good for tank cycling.

 

[Shark_Party]

I understand that live rock and live sand is "live" with good bacteria. I however have "Life-rock" the man made caribsea brand of live rock but am not sure if it is good for tank cycling.

 

[Jason mack]

Depends on wether the rock you got was already in a system or was it dry .. if it was dry then it's not live ..

 

[bif24701]

Hello!
Newbie here! This is my first marine aquarium after a long break from the aquarium hobby. I used to do freshwater when i was in high school but grew out of it because I was a lazy teenager back then.
I have been doing research galore about this hobby even before I bought anything to get started, to make sure that I've been going about this the right (patient) way.

My setup:

-36 gallon bowfront
-Fluval 70 gallon HOB filter
-150 watt heater set to 80
-Salinity is currently around 1.022-1.023
-Aquatop 660 circulation pump
-40 lbs of caribsea brand live sand
-About 22-25 lbs of caribsea "liferock" 1/3 of that is the painted/bacteria infused type of rock.
-some small dead corals that I was given to use in this tank that used to be in a friend's marine aquarium that hasn't been running for years now. (They don't even weight 1/2 lb)

Anyway, here is my question; Am I doing something wrong?

Here is why I think I might be; The tank has been set up and cycling for 2 weeks now. A couple of days after initial setup I went to my LFS to ask if there was anything else I should do to cycle the tank. Low and behold I ended up leaving there with 3 yellowtail damsels. So, I have live sand, live-ish rock, and fish to cycle with.

Only 1 of the damsels is still alive because he decided to kill his other tank mates. He seems to be a happy camper now though. Been told this is normal ish behavior for this fish though.

Tank has been cycling for 2 weeks. I have yet to see any algae, diatoms, or even color changes on any of the rocks.
I understand that it takes time, and am prepared to wait. Though with every other forum thread that I read, or video I watch, by this point in the cycle people seem to have one or both of these things happening/growing.

My ammonia and nitrites are already spiked up, so I know I need to do a water change soon.

Should I have diatoms or algae by now or is it good to not have them? I thought that the live sand would have been loaded with hitch hikers...
Is "liferock " not a good choice for cycling tanks?

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.
Attatched a pic of my setup.

I assume that your LFS told you it would be ok to add some fish, maybe specified the damsels and based on their recommendation you bought them. Is that true at least in part?

 

[Jason mack]

You could probably use some more rock in that tank as well , I would make them islands a little higher ..just my opinion though !

 

[Shark_Party]

Depending on how this one acts around the other live stock that I will eventually get after the tank cycles, i may just return him to LFS for credit. Plus I don't want to overstock the tank, and have tank space used up by butt hat fish.

 

[Shark_Party]

I assume that your LFS told you it would be ok to add some fish, maybe specified the damsels and based on their recommendation you bought them. Is that true at least in part?

I told them everything that I had in my tank setup, then asked them if there was anything else I needed to do for a cycle. They said that i should add "sacrificial" fish to jumpstart the ammonia cycle since they're hardy they recommend damsels. So, i bought them.

 

[Shark_Party]

You could probably use some more rock in that tank as well , I would make them islands a little higher ..just my opinion though !

I was thinking that same thing. Would you suggest more of the plain shelf rock, or get a chunk of actual 'live' rock to add?

 

[Jason mack]

Depending on how this one acts around the other live stock that I will eventually get after the tank cycles, i may just return him to LFS for credit. Plus I don't want to overstock the tank, and have tank space used up by *** hat fish.

I had 3 of them damsels in my old tank , they would knock my frags of rockwork all the time wouldn't let me place corals and blow the sand so the tank bottom would show .. ( they look like they have angry faces .. I really think they are too ) they got annoyed when I put the sand back .. it was a battle of wills .. outcome .. they didn't go in my new tank

 

[Jason mack]

I told them everything that I had in my tank setup, then asked them if there was anything else I needed to do for a cycle. They said that i should add "sacrificial" fish to jumpstart the ammonia cycle since they're hardy they recommend damsels. So, i bought them.

This is so wrong !! I'd look for another lFS .. this is bad information imo !

 

[Jason mack]

I told them everything that I had in my tank setup, then asked them if there was anything else I needed to do for a cycle. They said that i should add "sacrificial" fish to jumpstart the ammonia cycle since they're hardy they recommend damsels. So, i bought them.

This is so wrong !! I'd look for another lFS .. this is bad information imo !

 

[Shark_Party]

This is so wrong !! I'd look for another lFS .. this is bad information imo !

Looking back, I should have taken it with a grain of salt from this particular employee there. Since then, whenever I'm in there, he never seems to be of any help to anyone, advice wise anyway. The other employees there seem to know their stuff better and are more friendly.

 

[Shark_Party]

I had 3 of them damsels in my old tank , they would knock my frags of rockwork all the time wouldn't let me place corals and blow the sand so the tank bottom would show .. ( they look like they have angry faces .. I really think they are too ) they got annoyed when I put the sand back .. it was a battle of wills .. outcome .. they didn't go in my new tank

I notice this one likes to dig and throw sand around the tank to make new hiding places and beds.

 

[Jason mack]

I was thinking that same thing. Would you suggest more of the plain shelf rock, or get a chunk of actual 'live' rock to add?[/
Maybe both maybe build the islands up and bridge them on the top ( just an idea ..
this is my tank it's a 90g

 

[Shark_Party]

Awesome looking tank!
I was thinking of adding a bridge from the 'cave' and the 'tunnel' in my tank. Then adding one more rock on top of that.