cycling.... few questions

[Myka]

That's looking a lot better! You probably have another week or two before your cycle finishes. Make sure your ammonia and nitrite are both at 0 before adding a small clean up crew. What kind of salt are you using? Your alkalinity is low. I like to keep mine between 8-9 dKH. You're going to need a buffer to bring that up, but don't bother until your cycle is over. I use SeaChem Reef Buffer. Works well. You might want to take a look at two part Cal/Alk solutions as well like C-Balance.