Bacterial bloom

[DannyPR]

17 days ago I started cycling  my 20g tank, I fill it up 24 hours later I add dr tim bacteria and ammonia. The next day i tested the ammonia level (salifer) and the ammonia  was 0.5 so I decided to add more ammonia, so the next day I tested again  and it was 0.5 again, so I thought  like there's got to be something wrong, So I took a sample of water to my lfs and they tested  and it was above  8. So the next day the water started to get a little  cloudy, I thought it make sense there is to much ammonia  in the tank so it causing a bacteria bloom!! So I did a 50% wc and bought  me an api test kit and the next day the water turn completely  white I mean like you couldn't  see the rocks anymore, 6 days later ammonia  level still in 0.5 with the api test kit and the water is about  a 75%  clear now. My question  is, should  I do another WC or just let it be? I'm just thinking  about  a WC because all the ammonia  that was there  now its nitrate, so I feel like a WC may help get the nitrates out and clear the water a little more. I have no live stock  in the tank right  now and when I started  the tank I used dry rock and live sand. Thank you 

[MSunkin23]

Hi Danny, sounds like a tough start but always easier to learn when something goes sideways.

 

what I recommend is taking all that water out and putting in a new batch of saltwater. Then add 2ppm of ammonia again. Monitor Ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate each day to see where your at. If there is any beneficial bacteria on the rocks, the water change wouldn’t impact that.

 

If you’ve been patient this long, better to keep it going. This is what I would do personally, but never just one approach in reefing.