help please

[Mikeymike nyc]

hello im new to this and i started a new aquarium monday 2/20/2012. i added conditioner to the water and let the tank filter for 48 hrs. on Wednesday 2/22/2012 i added stress coat 2 dwarf gouramis and 1 clown pleco. i fed them the following day and since then everything seems fine they are eating and swimming around. today is 2/27/2012 and i did a ammonia test and the level is 1.0. is this normal for a new cycling tank? should i do a water change ? should i add ammonia neutralizer ? would appreciate some input thank you.

 

[Mikeymike nyc]

forgot to add the aquarium is 10 gallons

 

[Daxhua]

You really should have given more time for your tank to cycle you can't rush this but since you already added fish hears what I would do for the time being. Don't use Stress Coat go out and get a bottle of Seachem Prime, this will remove the chlorine from your tap water and will help neutralize the high amonia and eventually your high nitrite level. I recomend you get API Freshwater Master Test Kit or at least get a test kit for PH, and Nitrite testing. I know this may be costly but its important if you want a succesfull tank.
Remove 2 to 4 gallons of water from your tank then add half a cap full of Prime to treat your tank then start to add water back to your tank. Try to keep the water the same temp as it is in the aquarium so your fish don't go into temp shock. Do this two to three times a week.

 

[librarygirl]

HI and welcome. Yes it's normal but with fish in the tank you don't want ammonia to get that high. Water changes with a good dechlorinator (whatever you have on-hand is fine but Prime is best when you can get some; no need for the bacteria stuff or the ammonia neutralizers). Also unfortunately your tank is severely overstocked so you're going to have a battle on your hands keeping ammonia down. I'd highly suggest returning the fish and properly cycle the tank and in the meantime research fish appropriate for a 10 gal (or upgrade to a much larger tank fairly soon).

Here are some links for you now:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?!
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f15/guide-to-starting-a-freshwater-aquarium-186089.html

 

[Daxhua]

You need to do daily testing to keep up with whats going on with the nitrogen cycle in your tank. This will help us on AA to help you with your tank What your looking for in testing is a stable PH, your amonia and nitrite readings are going to high for a while but as your tank goes through its nitrogen cycle both will gradually get down to zero which is what you want.
Information we need to know is;
What is the tank PH reading?
What is the amonia reading?
What is the nitrite reading?
What is the water temp?
What type of filter are you using?

Since your new to this you probably have a bunch of questions now but rather than me typing more than a page of what you need to know go through this forum and look at all the threads people have posted to answer some of questions and go to americanaquariumproducts.com and click on the aquatic information tab to research everything you need to know.

 

[Mikeymike nyc]

Here is my test kit results the liquid one being the ammonia , and the temp is currently 78 .

 

[Mikeymike nyc]

Here is my test kit results the liquid one being the ammonia , and the temp is currently 78 .the filter im using is a aqueon quiet flow 10.

 

[Aspencer]

Ammonia is toxic at levels above .25 ppm...the higher the ph, the more toxic it becomes...my advice is to test and when that .25 level is reached, 50% water change...this could be everyday until you start getting NitrItes...which is toxic too....I forget the levels since my tanks have been cycled for a long time and I do not test for it anymore...then you get NitrATes as the tank cycles which is toxic when levels reach aroung 40 which mean more water changes....my fish do not mind water changes, I do mine every three days on all tanks.

 

[HeatherW]

welcome! read up on the stickies library girl gave you. you will be learning lots in a short time!
you are going to be doing lots of water changes. 50% PWc is what I would do each time. each time treat the water and temp match to your tank. test daily - your liquid test kit is great! you will need to get the others too, it is cheapest to get the kit but either way is fine. trust your liquid kit over the test strips. the strips are very inaccurate. whenever you ammonia gets over .25ppm you will need to do a water change. also, could you test your tap water. that will really help. post your results here.