Please Help I need some advise!!!

[linzNjoe]

Hello, my fiancee and I recently bought a 30 gallon tank, and all of our fish keep dying. We checked the amonia level and it is very high, so we have been doing partial water changes for the last few days, about 25% water change a day, we do it by using out siphon gravel cleaner. Our amonia level still hasnt gone down at all. Also we have been testing the ph, and it has been at about 7.6, we are trying to get it to 7, I have used the ph down by following the instructions on the box, 2 drops per 1 gallon, but it isnt lowering the ph at all. We have a cecilian better known as a "rubber eel" in the tank and i have heard that its not good to add a lot of chemicals with one of these in the tank, does anyone have any advise on how to get our tank to a good state? Also if anyone knows anything about fresh water eels, cecilans "rubber eels" please let me know. Thanks- Lindsay and Joe

[pikwik]

I think that your tank has probably not cycled yet. How long have you had the tank? There is a sticky at the top of this forum that you need to read about cycling a tank.This is a common problem when you are new in the fish keeping hobby. You are at the right place for help, just keep letting people know whats happening and keep asking questions and people here will help you out. :dance2:

[linzNjoe]

Thanks, for the advise, we have had out tank for about 2 weeks, but from what i have been told, we may have added too many fish right at the begining. I will read the stickie, if you have any more advise please let me know. Thanks again-Lindsay and Joe

[mdcordeiro]

im kinda new myself but i just went through the same thing didnt know about the cycle thinggy till it was too late i would say keep a minimum of fish in tank and do as many water changes as you can stand the more you do the more likely of saving the remaining fish . you said your ammonia was high, how high and whats the nitrite reading also ? from what i understand the nitrites are even more deadly to fish than ammonia.

and dont make the same mistake i did and think i'll clean the filter to help filter out the ammonia and thusly clean out all the good bateria if you have to clean the filter dont clean it all leave some of the foam filter untouched (dirty) you dont want to kill off all the bacteria. my filter has 4 foam filters i only clean 3 at a time always leave on dirty and use the tank water to rinse them not tap water. GOOD LUCK

[linzNjoe]

Thanks for the response, the amonia level is at about right in the middle of 1.0 and 2.0, the lady at the store told my fiancee that he wants it to be in the yellow, which is .0 to .25 What is a good level for it to be at? I dont have a nitrite tester, I will go get one today. What is a good level for that? All the help I can get is greatly appreciated, thanks..
-Lindsay

[mdcordeiro]

as far as what the nitrites should be Im not sure, but i would say the less the better. if its elevated at all i would do a water change, might have to do it daily . if you wanna keep the fish alive its gonna be a long haul take it from me just went through it now my levels are good but my water is cloudy (grey) its always something anyone have suggests on how to keep the water crystal clear with using chemicals?

[wataugachicken]

ammonia and nitrites should both be at/under .25

I suggest you make another thread for your cloudiness problem so as not to get off topic from the original poster's question, you'll probably get more answers that way too.

[telecubby]

how about some nice driftwood from your local fish store

[trigoudarammi]

You really should only start out with two fish to get a little ammonia in there. Also from what i hear your ph sounds just fine i wouldnt be trying to lower it if i were you. And the ammonia will not go down unless the right bacteria lands in your tank and starts to eat it, or you can buy the actual bacteria at some fish stores..

[wataugachicken]

i missed the ph part - most fish will be fine in whatever ph you have. adding chemicals etc. . to change it will cause more harm because it will just jump back up. a stable ph is better than a "perfect' ph. the ph isn't a sliding scale, it's actually an logarithmic one. each level is 10 times more basic than the previous level, and 100 times more basic then the one before that.
this is a really simple and interesting chart that explains ph. . .
Ph Chart and Explanation (http://www.elmhurst.edu/~chm/vchembook/184ph.html)

[Emg]

When a tank is fully cycled and healthy you shouldn't read any ammonia or nitrite. You will get a bit of reading on the nitrates though.

Don't bother trying to mess with the PH. This will cause more harm than good. Most fish will adjust to your PH if you acclimate them properly. A 7.6 reading isn't too bad in my book...mine goes up to 8.2 sometimes...however, my water is on the soft side...about 80ppm.

Do 20-30% water change every day until those readings get to 0. Take too much water out all at once and you end up interupting the cycle by removing too much of the good bacteria.

[wataugachicken]

if you only change 20-30%, the levels will never go down that way. the fish replace that much waste by the next time you do a change.

again - the bacteria do not float around in the water.

[linzNjoe]

Thanks, all the help the better.. How much of a water change should i be doing? More than 25%?

[wataugachicken]

check your other thread about cycling

[stacey]

Try Going And Buying Some Zeolite To Add To Your Filter, It Will Take It Right Down.

[wataugachicken]

the problem with using ammonia-trapping or neutralizing products is that often they do such a good job that there is zero ammonia left over for the bacteria to feed on, which makes your cycle take even longer.

[Holly9937]

You will want to do as large of a water change as it takes to get the ammonia down below .5, as close to 0 as possible. This might take more than 25%, more than once a day, hence the "fun" of a fishy cycle :rolleyes: . Ammonia is toxic to the fish, it is very important to keep it low, they can suffer permanent damage due to high/prolonged levels.