Three Weeks In : Unsure of Progress

[AndyinAtlanta]

So I'll try to give as much information as possible, but I'm sort of unsure if I'm ready to start adding some living creatures to my saltwater tank. For reference:

• The tank is a 32 gallon Fluval aquarium
• I installed the activated carbon and Biomax in both filters
• I have a Fluval heater that has been running at around 78 degrees since day 1

• I have 40 pounds of Carib Sea Arag-Alive sand
• I also have a good amount of Liferock by Carib Sea (forgot the total weight)
• All saltwater was supplied by a local fish store

So here's what I've done so far:

1. Week 1
   • Used aquavitro seed as instructed (from the bottle) for seven days
   • Did an ammonia/nitrate/nitrite test at the end of seven days that resulted in tests showing 0,0,0 (API test kit)
2. Week 2
   • Did nothing in the tank but ran water tests every few days. Most days showed 0,0,0 with the ammonia occasionally reading .25
   • End of the week I "ghost fed" the tank twice over the span of three days
3. Week 3
   • Continued running tests (still most at 0,0,0)
   • Noticed small amount of brown algae growth in sand, but nothing substantial

So, I'm at the end of week three, I haven't ghost fed the tank (with fish food) the entire week, the food has mostly completely broken down, and my tests are still reading mostly zeros (maybe slight upticks). I thought, and maybe I'm dead wrong here, that I would see a spike in ammonia at some point followed by a spike in nitrates.

Am I still in the waiting process or should I start adding an invertebrate or two (a small crab and/or snail)? I'm not entirely sure what I should be looking out for at this point, or if I'm ready to progress to the next step. Thank you.

 

[Lithoman]

What test kits you using? You should have seen a spike in ammonia followed by nitrites than nitrates..
You sure your testing is correct?

 

[lapin]

My guess:
The reason you dont show nitrate is the bacteria is processing only what food it gets. Aquavitro seed and Liferock (bacteria). Since its not getting much your tests dont show much. Im sure your good to go for inverts. Be prepared to feed them since you have little natural food for them to eat in the new tank.

 

[AndyinAtlanta]

What test kits you using? You should have seen a spike in ammonia followed by nitrites than nitrates..
You sure your testing is correct?

I'm using the API Master Kit. I'm pretty confident I'm following the directions exactly.

 

[AndyinAtlanta]

My guess:
The reason you dont show nitrate is the bacteria is processing only what food it gets. Aquavitro seed and Liferock. Since its not getting much your tests dont show much. Im sure your good to go for inverts. Be prepared to feed them since you have little natural food for them to eat in the new tank.

Thanks! The plan is to start small, and I don't see myself adding a fish until April (if all goes well).