My perameters aren't making any sense.

Keaton

Reefing newb
I have 3 damsel fish 50lbs. of dead rock and 30lbs of live rock in my 75 gallon and I'm not getting any ammonia reading. I've had the damsels for a week now and have been feeding them frozen food which they don't entirely eat. I thought my tank would surely be cycling by now. Is it too early? Might my test kit be no good? I'm confused about what it's gonna take to cycle my tank lol. Thanks in advance.
 
If you used live sand and cured live rock.Its possible that you wont have a cycle.There is also the chance that you had a quick cycle.
To be safe.Test for nitrites and nitrates,then have your LFS run the same test to be double sure.
 
I also agree to take a sample to a fish store for double checking. Some people seem to skip the ammonia stage altogether, so check for nitrites and nitrates also.
 
If you have had them in there for a week and you aren't getting any ammonia readings you might have skipped the ammonia phase of the cycle already. I wouldn't worry about having a LFS double check. If food is going in then ammonia is being produced. You may also not see any indication of nitrites as they are quickly converted into nitrate. The live rock may also be converting your nitrates into nitrogen gas through the anaerobic that are on the rocks, so you may not get a nitrate reading. Although if you don't get a nitrate reading I would suspect the test kit and you should double check. Give it another month or so before you do anything to the tank and let the bacteria levels stabilize and the dead rock start to seed and such. Then you may want to remove the damsels as they will become real pains later and will kill or hurt most things introduced to your 75. Remember that patience is the best policy and nothing good in this hobby happens fast.
 
Ya I tested for nitrate and nitrite also and got nothing. The thing that confuses me tho is that I only have 30lbs of actual LR with some visable die off and the rest of my rock is dead. Is it possible that the 30lbs. of live rock is efficient enough to handle the bio load? I also went and got a different brand of ammonia test to double check. Thanks tho guys :)
 
If everythings reading zero,then my moneys on the kits.
Check the EXP dates and have your LFS test a sample.Better safe than sorry.
 
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