Boy, I hate to ask all this but....

[Jason01]

A little peat goes a long way. It won't take much(peat is VERY acidic) to lower the PH and keep it there. You may tinge your water a light brown color, but you could probably live with that.

What kind of de-chlorinator are you using? Does it remove Chloramine? If not, get some that does, and try testing your water again(for the ammonia), after you treat it. If your water supply has 1 PPM ammonia in it allready going to be harder. I would try a de-chlorinator that also removes chloramine.

 

[anonapersona]

I note that in those quotes, kveeti, that they say Amquel allows the cycle to proceed, but they do not specifically say that Ammolock does. I have read on a goldfish list about "Ammolock Hell" where the cycle takes 5 months or more to establish when using Ammolock. Ok, maybe it does allow some ammonia to unlock, but who want to cycle for 5 months??

From a couple sites I trust:

The Krib:
http://faq.thekrib.com/begin-cycling.html
As a final caution, several commercial products (e.g., ``Amquel'' or "Ammo-Lock'') safely neutralize ammonia's toxicity. Amquel does not remove the ammonia, it simply neutralizes its toxicity. Biological filtration is still needed to convert the (neutralized) ammonia to nitrite and nitrate. Thus, adding Amquel causes the ammonia produced by the fish to be neutralized instantly, yet still allows the nitrogen cycle to proceed.

The Skeptical Aquarist:
http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/water/chlorine.shtml
If you're de-chloraminating as in 3. with commercial products, it's useful to know that Ammo-Lock2 (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals) and AmQuel (Kordon) each react with the ammonia to form non-toxic, inert, moderately stable substances. With these products, the ammonia is bound, but not actually removed. It does remain available to the nitrifying bacteria, I understand; that's an important consideration.

 

[kentbphat]

Thanks all, I'll keep ya posted!

Rock on,
Kent

 

[pjfish]

I've had my aquarium for about 3 months, so I'm no expert, but I use a product called Cycle that is supposed to add beneficial bacteria to the water to break down the ammonia. My ammonia and nitrites are 0 and nitrates are < 20. I change about 20-25% of the water every 2 weeks. My fish seem healthy. Maybe adding beneficial bacteria would help you.