What the heck am I doing wrong?!?!

[Fox]

Yes it is live sand and I am starting to wonder if it was live rock as well but I bought it from a person off this board who said it was so I can only assume it is...I just hope that he didn't take advantage of my newbie status but I don't think that is the case as it has growth on it...
I have pictures of the tank on my Facebook page if you think you can tell by looking at it my name is Brad Mulders...

[Whatigot]

if you took us all through a step by step of your set up and gave some more info about your tank (like lighting, water turnover, any inhabitants, what brand of test kits you're using, etc) I am sure we could offer you some pertinent advice.

[mike31154]

If the rock was cured already when you aquired it and it never dried out between the time it was placed in your tank, you may not see a large cycle. Could be good to go already. I bought my setup used from a Vancouver aquarist, transported it all the way to Vernon with much of the rock wrapped in wet newspaper and some submerged in left over tank water. Never did get much of an ammonia spike when I set it up at home.

[agent77]

if you have seen any nitrates at all I would say your tank has cycled . I only had a little cycle and if I hadnt of tested when I did I wouldnt of seen the spike at all cause a few hours later it was down to nothing and has been sitting this way since christmas .

[digital-audiophile]

I would get a LFS to double check your test results.

[zazzoo]

what helped me cycle my tank fast was using cycle .....just dumped lots of that stuff in ... and off you go

[J.Lloy]

I'd have to agree with Mike, if your rock was in good condition and didn't have much or any die off from that transfer then your cycle could have been quick with very little spikes. If your water is testing good now then I would think you are good to go.

[Skimmerking]

Originally Posted by Fox

Yes it is live sand and I am starting to wonder if it was live rock as well but I bought it from a person off this board who said it was so I can only assume it is...I just hope that he didn't take advantage of my newbie status but I don't think that is the case as it has growth on it...
I have pictures of the tank on my Facebook page if you think you can tell by looking at it my name is Brad Mulders...

not to worry you can always add the hagen cycle in ther that is a great start up to get the cycle going , But reading on the post its saying that your tank is cycled. if you have a AMMONIA Or nitrites then you are still having a cycle problem but highly doubt it. If your Rock like Mike stated has been wet and in the water then you wont hav much of a die off. what type of skim mate is your skimmer producing?

and you can always dump 20 gal out and add 20 gal of new water. that will sort out anything weird in your tank......

[zazzoo]

try doing alittle bit of carbon dosing ..... sugar , vinegar, or vodka

[High tide]

Originally Posted by zazzoo

try doing alittle bit of carbon dosing ..... sugar , vinegar, or vodka

If you're a newbie, definitely DON'T try any of the above. Patience is the first lesson.