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Ok, I'm going to do a little history here on myself. I left My fish hobby about 15 yrs ago. About amonth ago I decided to set up a 20 gallon tall tank. Just coming back and setting up a tank, I knew the tank need cycling. At this point the only way I knew of cycling was using fish in the tank. So this is what I did:
1) Wiped the inside of my old tank out with a damp cloth.
2) Washed 20 pounds of colored gravel and put it in the tank.
3) Put the Whisper 30 on the back of tank after rinsing out the bio bag for it and filling the filter with water.
4) Put a 100 wat submersible heater in the tank, plugged it in after it was in the tank for about 15 minute.
I ran the tank empty for a few days to make sure the tank temp was alright. I decided to put in the starter fish in the tank. So I bought a dozen Zebra Danios to start the cycling. All was good for about the first four days. Then the ammonia level got high. I lost five of the Danios in the first two weeks. Knowing that 6 fish wasn't going to be enough to continue the cycling process I bought 6 cherry barbs and 2 cory cats. So I also took a water sample to the LFS to verify my test results. At the store they said my ammonia and nitrite leves was to high. I learned they had Bio-spira so I bought a pack of it came home, did a small water (20%) added the bio-spira acclimated the new fish. Was told not to touch the tank. I left it alone except for testing, feeding, and topping the tank off from water evaporation. So I did this. Come 2 weeks later the ammonia and nitrite levels are still at the top of the scale. So I go back to the LFS and have my water resampled and once again they said my levels was high. So I bought an aqueon 10 filter to hang on the back along with my whisper 30.
Also added a 10" airstone (Bubble wall) thinking it would help out. After talking to the LFS, they recommended to put another bio-Spira to the tank. Which I did. This was 2 days ago. So I tested the ammonia and nitrite level today and to my dismay the level was still at the top of the scale, meaning high. So this is my question. Do I tear the tank down and try the fishless cycling if I can find the pure ammonia? Or do I just do daily water changes and hope for the best. A little bit more info for you all. I feed Tetramin crisps. And put no more then what the fish can eat in a couple of minutes. Sorry for the long post. I am at a lose as to what to try next. LFS is kinda baffled too. So any helpful advice will be greatly appreciated.

How many fish are left?
What colour are their gills? (bubblegum pink? brick red? lipstick red?)
Any having trouble breathing or looking lethargic?

What dechlorinator did you use? (brand)
How much bio-spira did you add?

When the LFS are testing your water, can you get numbers? You can't really judge how the cycle is progressing when they use subjective terms like "high" and "fine", you really need ppm and ppt measurements. Does your test kit have these? What brand kit are you using?


Given that you have close on a full complement of fish now (6 danios would have actually been fine) the first priority should be keeping them alive. It is now going to be a bit of a juggling act to keep the cycle chugging along and keep the fish going.

I'd keep an eye out for pure ammonia, but IMO this can probably be salvaged.

For animals, the entire universe has been neatly divided into things to (a) mate with, (b) eat, (c) run away from, and (d) rocks. - Terry Pratchett

1) Wiped the inside of my old tank out with a damp cloth.

If is a old tank is it possible it could have been exposed to any nasties at all.

2) Washed 20 pounds of colored gravel and put it in the tank.

Was the gravel old or new if it was old I would have boiled it or tossed it out and bought new substrate

In theory it looks like you did every thing correct.
Exactly where are you reason being in my area of Aust I could explain a possible reason and the LFS should know about it.

I would use Seachem Stability it is fantastic for building up a good bacteria.
As of today Mon 6th what fish are alive and what are the water parameters?
1) Wiped the inside of my old tank out with a damp cloth.
2) Washed 20 pounds of colored gravel and put it in the tank.

Keith

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Thank you both for the replys.
Keith - The tank just had dust in it. And the gravel was brand new. When i was ready to set up the tank i bought everything new cept the tank, stand, and the class cover with the flouro light. I live in Illinois.

Callatya - I forgot to mention during the first 2 weeks of the cycle I lost 6 fish. That is when I went back to the fish store and learn of the Bio-Spira. I add a full package of the sample like i was told to by LFS manager. Bought 6 cherry barbs and 2 corys at that time. Last tuesday i went back in to talk with the store manager with a water sample, when she tested the water the level was definatley in the red for the nitrite and deep green for the ammonia. As for dechlorinator i used a petco declorinator that a good friend that works there uses in his personal tanks. The color of my fishes gills are a little red. But they are swimming and getting along just fine. I test my water with Tetratest Laborett, it lets test the ph, kh, gh, ammonia, and nitrite.
5 days ago I took a second water sample to the LFS, They recommended to add a second package of Bio-Spira to my tank in case the firdst sample was bad.
As I have not lost any fish in about a week I am only feeding tetramin crisps that the fish can eat in a min or two. as of right now i will been doing partial water changes every other day to get the ammonia level down to an acceptable level. Any other advice would greatly appreciated. My perams are as follows:
PH = 8.0
NO2 = 1.6 mg/l or higher
amonnia = 5.0 or higher
water temp 76 degrees - 78 degrees

I went through the exact same thing about a year ago. I think you had/have too many fish to try to cycle a 20 gal tank. Think of it this way: 1 fish will cycle the tank with a biofilter strong enough to process 1 fish worth of waste. Each additional fish will cause a mini-cycle while the biofilter grows to process the higher level of waste. Mini-cycles are quicker because you already have some of the proper bacteria present. Too many fish for cycling means that ammonia will increase to lethal levels before bacteria can grow.

Don't bet your fishes lives on chemicals that add beneficial bacteria. I can see using it to speed the cycle but don't start loading up fish until the cycle is complete. You are seeing the result of this mistake. The tank will cycle but it takes time. Be patient and don't tear the tank down.

To save your fish, I would:

+ Do not buy any more fish until your ammonia and nitrites are 0.0

+ Decrease feeding to once every 48 hrs. Feed before WCs and remove uneaten food.

+ Do 30% WCs every 48 hours until ammonia starts to decline.

+ Monitor all 3 - ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to see how far along the cycle you are. Nitrates will likely shoot up and you will need to start doing frequent WCs again to keep it at a normal level. Decrease WCs to weekly and continue to monitor Nitrates. Add more fish only if you can keep nitrates under 20.

Thanks alot for the replys. I think I found something that is messing with my test kit. I am currently using a water conditioner made by petco. When I do a water change I have noticed that my chemical levels havent changed over that past couple of days. I do know that I have not been putting any other chemical in my water. So I decided to test the water conditoiner. First I filled up a 5 gallon bucket of tap water. Tested for ammonia and the test showed no trace of ammonia. Then I treated the the water with my Water Condition. The results with the condition revealed a reading of .25 or higher. So what I think is happening is everytime i did a water change and treated the water with the conditioner the levels of ammonia would get progressively high. In short I think my water conditioner is causing false readings. Thanks for the help I have received.

Some water conditioners are known to cause false positives for ammonia. Don't sweat it. Watch your Nitrites and Nitrates. When the nitrites drop and nitrates climb, you are near the end. The fact that you haven't lost fish recently probably means that your ammonia has dropped.

BTW, how long exactly has it been since you set the tank up and what are you nitrite and nitrate levels?

Krash,
My tank has been up for almost 5 weeks. I can test the nitrites, but I get a high reading around 1.6 ml/g. I dont have a nitrate test kit yet. But will get one soon. I first started noticing this after the first 2 weeks the tanks was up. I added the first Bio spira then. Then two weeks ago noticed the the level was still up. LFS recommened adding a second Bio- spira sample in case the first sample was bad. SO I hope it is all ok soon. Will look for a nitrate test kit and change water conditioner brands. I havent lost a fish in 2 weeks now. Thanks.

5 weeks should be near the end of any cycle. This is long but you have added large amounts of fish twice so hang in there. Nitrites will decrease to zero when the tank is cycled. After that, Nitrates are what you need to monitor in the long term assuming you make no major changes to the tank. Get a test kit for nitrates. It will dictate how many fish you can keep vs how often you must clean the tank.

Now that I have found out what my problem is. How do I Fix the water so my test kit will read properly. Any one know which water conditions have been known to give false readings?

I use Prime. But once your tank is cycled, you don't need to monitor Ammonia on a regular basis.

went through the exact same thing about a year ago. I think you had/have too many fish to try to cycle a 20 gal tank. Think of it this way: 1 fish will cycle the tank with a biofilter strong enough to process 1 fish worth of waste. Each additional fish will cause a mini-cycle while the biofilter grows to process the higher level of waste. Mini-cycles are quicker because you already have some of the proper bacteria present. Too many fish for cycling means that ammonia will increase to lethal levels before bacteria can grow.
....Exactly my thoughts too... way to many fish..
20gal I can say most would go fishless..not a big aquarium..would only be 10 days or so..to see the levels start to drop..
glad to see it is finally coming to an end for your tank..