Shrimp Cycle STINKS!

[stevieduk]

Need some help with this cycle. I tossed a shrimp in there two days ago and started cycling. The shrimp smell absolutely awful and my girlfriend is gonna make me dump the tank haha I took the shrimp out and did a measurement- numbers below:

7.8pH
3-4ppm ammonia
3-5ppm Nitrite
15ppm Nitrate

Is there a better way to continue this cycle without my lady moving out? Perhaps ghost feeding or something?

Also, I have a piece of seed rock in there and was going to get another piece. What are your thoughts?

All the tanks I have set up over the years , I have never cycled a tank. You only cycle a tank to build your good bacteria up in what ever filter system you have. All you need to do is find some one near that is doing a water change,or your own water if you already have a tank, get there old water which has the bacteria in it. get enough water to fill the tank to 50 % then add new salted water. turn on the supply so it goes through your filter or sump and let it mix for a couple of hours and be the correct temperature, then put your living rock , or rock from another tank in, and next day you can put in 2 or 3 damsels and they will be fine. after a week your filter bed will be operating fine.
Ive used this method for 20 plus years after a old guy showed me once and its never failed. you just have to add fish slowly over a couple of weeks so that the bacteria levels can vuild up and dont get overloaded

 

[Lionfish Lair]

I use shrimp all the time to keep the filter up and the only time I smell it was when I put too much in. If you haven't pulled it out already, remove a nice chuck of it. Frozen stuff works fine, as it's an ammonia source.

 

[nervousmonkey]

I think maybe someome meant that velvet could aerosolize (spread into the air in water mist, like from a bubbler) from one tank to another, not that it came from an aerosol air freshener. But I've read some strange things before so who knows what was said..
Regardless I agree with above, velvet doesn't come from air freshener, but can be spread through the air from one tank to another..

agreed on that, 10 feet is the common rule

 

[saltsavage]

Ammonia sources are at 2-3 ppm....getting there!