Cycle after every new livestock addition?

mdhnatow

New member
Ok guys, this one is kind of confusing me. Let me start by give you all some background about my tank.

~30 pounds live rock (fully cured)
30 gallon display with 20 gallon sump/fuge (40 gallons total water volume)
3 inch sand bed

I started up my tank about 3 months ago and performed a full cycle. What I mean by that is that the ammonia peaked at about 1.5 ppm and the nitrite peaked at about 3-4 ppm, then everything returned to zero. It was at this time that I added two damsels. After that, the tank cycled again! I had an ammonia peak and nitrite peak almost the same as the first cycle. Then I added a yellowtail damsel after that was done. Now, Im experiencing another ammonia peak... 2 ppm.

I know that Im supposed to add livestock slowly, and I think I am! I also understand that the tank may have a very small, quick cycle when adding new livestock, but is this normal? Im experiencing a full cycle every time!?
 
are you sure your test kit is correct? If your tank was properly cycled to begin with you should not be having problems adding those small fish. Take a sample to the lfs to verify the ammonia reading.
 
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