problem with 20 l saltwater tank

[oro50]

Ok I'll stop adding ammonia.

Now I remember why though I was adding a little bit of pure ammonia each day.

The reason was, I thought until a fish is actually in my tank, that the bacteria basically needed lunch every day so that it wouldn't die, because the strain of bacteria that eats up ammonia needs it for daily energy needs.

I'll just watch the fish food though, and when I have the RO/DI system going, next few days and a water change with that water I'll add one fish.

 

[ReefWreak]

Ok I'll stop adding ammonia.

Now I remember why though I was adding a little bit of pure ammonia each day.

The reason was, I thought until a fish is actually in my tank, that the bacteria basically needed lunch every day so that it wouldn't die, because the strain of bacteria that eats up ammonia needs it for daily energy needs.

I'll just watch the fish food though, and when I have the RO/DI system going, next few days and a water change with that water I'll add one fish.

Your reasoning was correct, you do want to keep the bacteria alive, but you can accomplish that by having rotting food in there (and only need a TINY bit of it in there. it will be difficult to get under control if you have more than a tiny amount).

Like I mentioned before, the conversation that I had with the employee at MA was around what do you do between the cycle and the first fishes. If you think about it, it's almost impossible to "right size" the nitrogen inputs to what you expect once you have a fish in there. You could add as much food as you'll be feeding the fish, as was recommended in some cycling guides I saw, but I know that personally I modified my feeding schedules around the needs of the fishes and the nutrient levels in the tank, neither of which you'll know until you're in that position with the fishes and in a constant rhythm.

So yea, leave a tiny amount of food in, watch it rot, do water changes, and if you're adding a fish the day of the water change, then siphon out the food from the bottom since you won't need or want it in there anymore.

 

[fredro]

I see that every time you say that you added tap water, you justify it by reassuring everyone that you added conditioner to it. The issue is that the conditioner basically just neutralizes any potential chlorine in the water, which is great and VERY important. The problem is that besides to chlorine, the so water can Cobain very high levels of phosphates, metals or other potentially hazardous chemicals... This can kill living organisms in your tank and also cause the rapid growth of nuisance algae. Long story short, the tap water conditioner is great and all but it's not that great.

I can honestly say, I have never seen someone have more trouble with a cycle before.

Keep it simple. Do your research. Don't try anymore "experiments." Now is not the point, with your experience, that you should start trying stuff like that. You need to be careful and follow what the accepted ways of doing things are. Don't let this give you a bad taste for they hobby. This isn't normal.

If it were me, I would do 2 water changes, 60-75%, a week apart. Siphon out any detritus from the sandbed, being careful not to stir up the sand too much. Then leave it. Let your levels get back down and then start over with a small addition of ammonia and start testing water, to see what happens. There's a chance you may only go through a mild cycle because there may be some useful established bacteria in the system from your last "experiment" that made it through.

This is supposed to be the easy part, the boring, waiting part. Keep it simple. Good luck!