Big_jpb2006

hi
water is still cloudy im cycling but could a crappy old tank also cause merky water due to old glass or anything

Shawnie

hi big jpb!
how long have you been at this and what are you cycling with?

Big_jpb2006

its been cycling for like 3 weeks i checked ammonia its at .50 almost one 1 and nitrite is about .25 and .50 hard to tell but i took some rocks from a cycled tank and but them in there and i use cichlid food i just started getting these reading though like 3 days ago

Shawnie

the cloudyness could be from too much food being fed, or a bacteria bloom..hard to tell for sure..if you have a turkey baster, and you see tons of food accumulating on the bottom, its fine to suck some up just leave a lil bit for the process to continue..just a pinch of food a day is good...ok..heres what I would do...crank up that heater to 86 (assuming you still have no fish right?) keep feeding it the food( a pinch a day_...do you have a nitrate reading yet

Big_jpb2006

No nitrate still 0

Shawnie

can you get a hold of some pure ammonia? that might help bump it up a bit...the food does take longer as you should have the ammonia about 8ppms to start off with...a few drops of it at this point, might kick in the nitrates...if not, continue doing what your doing and see if they sell a can of "patience" (I hate cycling!)

Big_jpb2006

ok so just go buy pure ammonia right at the grocery store and i have 20 gallon how much should i put in

Shawnie

from the nitrogen cycle page

Option 3:
Use 100% pure ammonia.
Using a dropper, add 5 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of aquarium water. If you don't get an ammonia reading with your test kit, add some more drops until you start to see an ammonia reading. Keep track of how many drops you've used so you can repeat this process daily. Continue to dose the tank with ammonia until you start to get nitrite readings with your test kit. Once you can detect nitrites you should only add 3 drops of ammonia per 10 gallons of aquarium water, or if you added more drops originally to get an ammonia reading cut the amount of drops used in half. Continue this process daily until you get nitrate readings with your test kit. Do a 30% water change and your tank is ready.

Nate McFin

Regarding the cloudy water.
Don't worry about it until the cycle finishes. UNLESS it starts turning green. Then it will slow the cycle down at night by robbing oxygen from the water.
If it turns green (a noob) would recommend doing weekly water changes when the nitrates start getting high. There are 3 ways to get rid of algae
1. Kill it- not recommended because it will also effect water quality as well as other living things in the water (good bacteria)
2. Take away its light- a blackout for 3-4 days will help green water.
3. Remove its food source (nitrates)- By doing water changes to keep the nitrates down you will rob the water of Algae food thus keeping it in check. You can also add plants to compete for nutrients with the Algae to keep it at bay.

Again- I wouldn't worry about it unless it hangs on for awhile and turns green.