Okay, I'm pretty much clueless, except for the fact that I realize how clueless I am. I just set up a 29 gallon tank for my 8-year old's birthday about 10 days ago. I did a little reading beforehand, and hoping to jumpstart the cycle I had a friend put an extra internal filter in his tank for a month in the hopes of building up a good bacterial colony to add to mine (which I did on day 1).
I started with 2 zebra danios and 6 neon tetras and am down to 1 danio and 2 tetras. I don't have an
ammonia test kit, but purchased a Mardel ammonia meter that I stuck in the tank. I'm skeptical of how well this actually works.
Anyway, I'm obviously (too) impatient (on behalf of my 8 year-old's impatience, I tell myself), but I've been trying all I can to get the ammonia down since the filter from the other tank did not seem to do the trick. Since I don't quite trust the ammonia meter, I've had the water tested at fish stories several times, and the ammonia has varied a good but, but the nitrates and nitrites have always come in low.
Anyway, I tried Stability, which did not seem to make any difference. On Saturday, when my ammonia had climbed higher, I tried Amquel Plus. The next day, I discovered BioSpira and added it to the tank. I was under the impression that this should get my ammonia down to close to zero in about a day. Nope. Did putting in Amquel Plus the day before mean I wasted my money on BioSpira? Should I just keep putting in Amquel Plus? Should I simply not trust any ammonia test when there is Amquel Plus in the tank? Should I just be patient and stick with 3 fish for a few more weeks despite my son and me both desperately wanting more?
Sorry to be long and rambling. Any help/suggestions is greatly appreciated.
Steve
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