help! 20 gallon nano not cycling!

[marcosaquatics]

hey can anyone help me! i set up a 20 gallon nano reef 3 weeks ago from this monday and it hasnt shown any signs of cycling! theres 20 pounds of live sand 16 pounds of live rock a fluval canister filter, one power head. there is alot of life in my rocks like feather dusters and little creaters at night. my tank has shown some light green bushy algea at the sides of the glass but no diatoms. my lighting is 130 watts from coralife. i also have chemi pure elitle in the filter. my question is why isnt it cycling( diatom bloom), should i take out the chemi pure elite?, add a piece of shrimp? HELP!

 

also my readings are:

high rang pH - 8.0-8.2

ammonia - 0ppm

nitrate - 0ppm

nitrite - 0ppm

[Urchinhead]

Well... You either had a short cycle due to low die off on your rocks or your filtration (chemipure & canister filter) have been taking up all of the ammonia et al. So add a fish and keep an eye on the levels. When you see ammonia and nitrite about 5 ppm do a 25% water change. This will soft cycle the tank the rest of the way.

[marcosaquatics]

Well... You either had a short cycle due to low die off on your rocks or your filtration (chemipure & canister filter) have been taking up all of the ammonia et al. So add a fish and keep an eye on the levels. When you see ammonia and nitrite about 5 ppm do a 25% water change. This will soft cycle the tank the rest of the way.

 

 

thanks! im gonna add some snails and see how they do then ill add a fish shortly after any good ideas of hardy fish besides the blue chromis,?

[TinyGiant]

+1 on short cycle. sometimes you dont even notice it.. usually if i see algae growth i just assume the deed is done for the most part.

 

just acclimate what ever you add and they will be good

[gulfsurfer101]

Clownfish are the hardiest one's I know. I would slowly add some livestock as well and see how your tank does.