Stuck during cycle

alakader

New member
hi I'm new to saltwater tanks
have been trying to cycle my 40 G tank for 6 weeks now and i'm stuck, any help would be appreciated

40 G, 35 bound of dry rocks, BM curve 5 running in the sump, 2 wave maker on. 2 marine pure blocks and some bioballs in the sump

temp 80, pH 8.2-8.32, salinity 1024

i tried to use shrimp for one week to get the cycle running but with no luck so
on OCT 20th i added ammonia to raise the level 2ppm, and added Seachum stability for 1 week as per instructions.
ammonia level dropped to .5 but no nitrite or nitrate
so on 31 OCT i raised ammonia again but this time close to 4, on NOV 4th the level was 1 and still no nitrite or nitrate
up to 12th NOV it was the same ammonia 1 with zero nitrite and nitrates

so after taking so online advise on 13th NOV i added bacteria (nitribiotic) in a good dose i got bacterial bloom and the second day ammonia dropped to .25 and zero nitrite but i can read nitrate no around 5
on 15th i raised ammonia again to 1 ppm (the cloudy water was clearing out)
since then ammonia is not dropping stuck at 1 and zero nitrite and nitrate

since OCT 26th i can see pink coloring of the silicon lines in the sump with none in the DT, those are not easily removed but are covered with thin whtish soft layer that easy to remove
for about 5 days i can see small area of ? blackish algae in the DT
 

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I'd stop adding ammonia for sure and just wait for ammonia to go to zero and call it done..
Then start to slowly stock the tank..
The addition of bacteria in a bottle products can cause funky cycles like that..
 
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