cycling process.

[pana]

when i firstly started cycling my rock 3 weeks ago after 4 days the tank became to cloudy from die off and it really did stink out the whole house. i was forced to do a 100% water change. the rock was to 'living' i prosume which caused this and due to my lack of experience i didnt know that ripping off foam was a good idea before adding my rock into my tank. after about 3 weeks now im still at the point where my amonia is above 8.. is this natural....?
ive been doing 10%-20% water changes every 4-5 days...should i up the anti? ive also been adding live bacteria to brake down the amonia in double to triple doses.

im finding that the rock is turning quite white and dead looking?is this possible or am i just paranoid... i see no hitchhikers also that have survived..


i havent started skimming yet, is it time for me to introduce the skimmer?

[pana]

sorry about the aus terminology but id like to also add that, i prosume the tank went cloudy also because of the amount of LR i do have in a 165 L tank (43 gallons) i added around 35-37 kilos. and im also hoping to add another 8-10 kilos of cured LR once the tanks ammonia levels do go down for hope of some living hitchhikers who may be able to out-live the next cycle of the 8-10 kilos of cured rock..if it does cycle.

[Shagsbeard]

I'd quit adding anything. You've added something to the tank that has killed stuff.

I don't have any idea what you mean by "ripping off foam".

What is the SG of water that you are using? Is it RO/DI or tap? What salt did you use? We need a lot more detail to give you and help.

[pana]

the water was from my LFS, which was already established. but the first time round it was tap water and i used red sea salt that time. since the water change the water cloudyness has gone and same as the rotten egg smell. but the amonia has not dropped. the shameful thing is the amount of hitchhikers i lost....which would of already been an established cleaning crew, i lost atleast 6 shrimp, 2 hermits etc. im more worried about my rock itself now, i just hope this high amonia level for 3 weeks now doesnt do more to the LR....

[meche]

IMO (I'm new but not as new as my post count would lead you to believe)

-Quit adding any of that bacteria stuff/ammonia reducer stuff.
-Start skimming ASAP
-answer shagsbeards questions
-You did dechlorinate the water in the beginning, right?
-Do you have anything in the tank generating flow? you should.
-I would increase the waterchanges especially if you arn't skimming.

[pana]

i have 2 powerheads creating flow, ill start skimming asap, cheers.

[meche]

:lol: you must be from the other side of the pond, with the cheers and measurements in kg and liters.

[pana]

hahaha yer its alot more difficult from over here, honestly without this forum i would be a goner. all your help is very appreciated. if you have any more ideas, that would also help, thanks heaps everyone.

[bertoni]

I would do a series of 50% water changes, if I had the energy. The ammonia neutralizers won't hurt, in my opinion, but the ammonia level is pretty high. The rock must have had a lot of dead animals on it. If you can see (or smell) any chunks of dead organisms, removing them might help a lot.