Hey All, I'm new to this forum, but really need some help w/ my 20 gallon fresh water tank as I am at a loss. I believe I'm dealing w/ "old tank syndrome" but can't seem to remedy it 
A few wks back I added some new fish and 2 shrimp. The next day all but 1 fish and the 2 shrimp were dead. Then over the next 2-3 days 3 of my older fish died off. Current surviving stock: 2 tetras, 2 shrimp, and 1 cory cat.
I purchased an API Master test kit and found that my ammonia and pH were high (4.0 and 7.6 pH), no nitrites and nitrates @ 40 ppm. I've tried doing partial water changes every other day, but my ammonia refuses to go below what i would say is 3.0 (appears to be between 2.0 and 4.0 on the scale). I tested my tap water and it tests @ 4.0. Right now I have Topfin water conditioner, when i tested the tap water after treating it w/ the water conditioner the ammonia was at 2.0. I have a fluval aquaclear 50 so i changed out the middle filter to the ammonia remover filter. I've been adding ammolock and some api quickstart, but nothing seems to get this ammonia level down. I'm really at a loss on what to do next? The only change I've really seen is my nitrates have lowered to 20. Is this a good sign? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
A few wks back I added some new fish and 2 shrimp. The next day all but 1 fish and the 2 shrimp were dead. Then over the next 2-3 days 3 of my older fish died off. Current surviving stock: 2 tetras, 2 shrimp, and 1 cory cat. I purchased an API Master test kit and found that my ammonia and pH were high (4.0 and 7.6 pH), no nitrites and nitrates @ 40 ppm. I've tried doing partial water changes every other day, but my ammonia refuses to go below what i would say is 3.0 (appears to be between 2.0 and 4.0 on the scale). I tested my tap water and it tests @ 4.0. Right now I have Topfin water conditioner, when i tested the tap water after treating it w/ the water conditioner the ammonia was at 2.0. I have a fluval aquaclear 50 so i changed out the middle filter to the ammonia remover filter. I've been adding ammolock and some api quickstart, but nothing seems to get this ammonia level down. I'm really at a loss on what to do next? The only change I've really seen is my nitrates have lowered to 20. Is this a good sign? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!
