Cycle

Just curious, what should I expect of the cycle I know the ammonia will spike but how high and how long does it spike for? And then what will nitrite or nitrate do anything?

I have been cycling for a week now the only thing that is showing is ammonia and it at 0.25 and won't move. will it go higher or will it be it.
I am cycling with cured live rock and a Damsel.

Does your tank gets nasty from the cycle? My water is starting to look horrible. the color of the water is kind of yellowish and of course the brown slime is on everything already.

So basically just want to know what else to expect.

 

It really all depends on what you started out with. Everyone's tank is different. Since you started with cured live rock, you probably won't see much of a cycle. .25 could very well be the highest reading you will get. My ammonia spiked to 5ppm on my reef, but when I started my mantis tank I only saw a spike of .25 for one day. Nitrite will probably be about the same as your ammonia.

As for your water color..are you running carbon? That should take away the yellowness.

 

The size of the spike can vary depending on how fast your bacteria are multiplying and their ability to keep up with the ammonia being produced.Once ammonia has spiked and then dropped you should see the same happen with nitrites,and then a rise in nitrates.when your ammonia and nitrites remain zero and your nitrates stabilize(not neccesarily zero)you're cycled.The yellowish water color could be from diatoms and should clear on it's own when they die off.