cycle for salt water tank

Question
we have a 34g tank, set up with 21lbs of live rock, snails, crabs, 4 damsels... salinity is at 1.021, temp is about 78 degrees, had tank set up for 4 weeks.  Ammonia, Nitrates and Nitrites are out the wazoo...and brown out.I've done water changes, added stress zyme..nothing seems to be working to complete cycle what should we do?

Answer
Hello Glenn. Did you put all the live rock,snails, crabs and damsels in there at the same time or have you been adding them gradually? Usually I recommend starting a saltwater tank off slowly. You want to add your live rock first then wait about two weeks to let the tank cycle out slowly before adding any thing else. Next would be to add a few hermit crabs and or snails then let it cycle out for two more weeks. Lastly you would add fish(only two at most) and let that cycle out until your ammonia and nitrites are zero and you have slightly elevated nitrates then do your first partial water change. If you add too many things at once you overload your system and it not only takes longer to cycle but by the time your ammonia and nitrites do reach zero your nitrates are also in the toxic zone.
When this happens the only thing you can do is small but frequent partial water changes to help dilute the toxic levels in your tank. You may want to do a large partial at this point changing about fifty percent of the water to get the levels down. Be careful to add the new water to the aquarium making sure it is the same pH,salinity and temp. Only use high quality water like RODI or distilled. Then you have to let it go until it cycles. You won't get any where until the ammonia comes down. Only feed once a day and siphon any debris that may fall to the bottom. Rinse any filter media every other day but do not change them. You can do small(3-5gal.)water changes every other day. What kind of biological filtration are you using? If there is not enough it will also take longer to cycle. Do not add any more living creatures until your tank has completely cycled!(even if you lose a few) Keep a close eye on all your levels and do frequent partials to combat the toxic levels in your tank. Be patient and don't panic. It will eventually work its way out it will just take a little longer than it should. Some of the products out there on the market say they get rid of nitrites and nitrates but they don't. Most of them may neutralize them but you will still be getting a reading when you test for them. I never recommend putting any chemicals in your tank.