Don't turn on the lights?

[paulg]

Just your nitrates, nitrites, ammonia and ph for now. All will spike really high then gradually come down. Dont do any water changes until its cycled. I always keep a log in with my test kit so I can look when the last test was done, I also document all my water changes on the log.

Do you have enough power heads in the tank? Good circulation will also keep the bad algea at bay to an extent during cycling

[Eli_The_Eel]

Yea, I have 2 400 GPH PHs in there. My nitrites are spiked right now, nitrates and everything else are normal.

[tazzy695]

2 400 gph pumps arent quite enough for a reef tank I would recomend a couple of high flow powerheads say about 1000 gph each

[bmshehan]

I waited almost 3 months for my lights, a couple days after I turned them on I put a small cleanup crew in there to help the small algae/bacterial bloom. The older your tank is the better it will handle this bloom. IMO you will have at least 3 mos. of initial cycle. Slow down, and spend the time learning. Anyone on here will tell you that going slow and taking your time will pay off big time in the long run. In the meantime, check out this thread: 3reef.com - Forums for coral reef aquariums, salt water fish, corals, inverts, protein skimmers, aquarium lighting and more! - 3reef Articles - Reef Aquarium Articles and How To's - How NOT to set up your first reef tank.