1 week cycle? not possible! EDIT* PICS*

This is a different tank... and yes I got them down. Its been a week since I was using ecobak biopellets and they are surely doing the job.

As for the rock it was fully cured fiji rock bought from the lfs
And the shrimp was in there for 3 days.

 

I doubt that that single shrimp was sufficient enough to cause an ammonia spike large enough to be testable in a tank that size. I would throw in a couple more shrimp and wait it out while testing daily to ensure that you have finished the cycle. Did you add any bacterial supplements to the tank when you were cycling?

 

Sorry, didn't realize we were talking about two different tanks... glad to hear that the pellets are working for you, and so fast, too!


On the new tank... I don't think 3 days is enough time for it to decay much and load your tank with ammonia. Especially in a 375 gallon. If you want the best results, I'd leave it for a couple of weeks and test again...

 

Add to my above post that "fully cured live rock" is a bit of a misnomer in many cases... I have seen many LFS sell "fully cured" rock that stinks from die-off...

But to be honest, the die-off is probably better in the long run for your tank anyway...

Just wait things out... the first few weeks is the hardest part, but if you wait, you'll be rewarded in the end...

 

I used dried base rock and only 10 lbs. of "fully cured" new LR. and 40 lbs. of live sand, and it took over a month for my tank to cycle. I added nothing to the tank, this was just die off from the rock and sand.

 

hmm.. should i just throw in more shrimp? because i have one damsel in there atm