Quick rundown of what I've have so far:
75g Cornerflow tank
30g sump/fuge
RO/DI water
NW150 Reef Octopus (running)
2 155e Reef Radiance lights (on a few hours every couple days)
120lbs of Ocean Direct Oolite sand
50lbs of BRS dry rock
12lbs of live rock from LFS
1 yellowdamsel in fuge (alive and well, feeding him everyday)
So it's day fourteen of the cycle and I've seen no discernible spike in the ammonia (I'll post all test results below). I thought I saw a tiny nitrite spike on day 3 and 4 with a slight decline of the PH here and there. The nitrates have fluctuated between 15ppm and 40ppm. The tank and fuge are still emanating a very pungent moldy smell which the wife hates and leads me to believe the cycle has yet to begin. I don't know. This is my first saltwater tank and I'm not sure where I'm at in the cycle or what I should do. So far I've waited and held off doing water changes or adding ammonia. The LFS guy said sometimes you get a 'light' cycle or no cycle. I have noticed a slight greenish/brown algae developing on the live rock and the coralline on the dry rock seems to be getting brighter and spreading. The skimmer is still breaking in but it's pulling off a light green soup. I really not sure how to proceed. I've spent the last 2+ months getting tank up and running and I want to get it off on the right foot. I'll take any questions, comments, advice or criticism. Thanks in advance for your help. Here are the test results for the last two weeks:
Baseline test before I added live or sand: PH 8.2, ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 0, 1.022, temp 77.9
Day 2: PH 8.2, am 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 10ppm
Day 3: 8.2, am 0, nitrites 0.25ppm, nitrates 10ppm
Day 4: 8.2, am 0, nitrites 0.25ppm, nitrates 10ppm
Day 5: am 0
Day 7: 8.2, am 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 20ppm
Day 9: 8.0, am 0, nitrites 0-0.25?, nitrates 20ppm
Day 10: am 0
Day 13: 8.2, am 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 15ppm
Day 14: 8.1, am 0, nitrites 0, nitrates 40ppm (nitrates may have spiked because I cleaned out my return pump filter to get out stray sand, not sure)
