Disaster with new tank

[Randi]

So I got a 10 gallon tank for my son and had no idea what I was getting into. The people at the fish store said we could add fish after 24 hours and we ended up with 12 fish in the first week. (The people at the store knew who we were and said nothing.) Only after a couple of deaths did I learn about cycling. When I first tested for ammonia I was at 4ppm. After daily water changes I was able to get it down to .75 but it has remained at this level for 10 days and I have no nitrites or nitrates.
I then went to a different fish store and the guy told me to stop vacuuming my gravel because I was keeping the tank from cycling. I decided to get a 20 gallon and have moved 4 glolight tetras into it and I have added Nutrafin Cycle to both tanks.
Are my fish going to make it? Am I doing the right thing?

 

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA!

Unfortunately 80% + of advice LFSs give is bad. It just kinda goes with the territory.

here is a thread I recommend you read, as it will help you sort out what you should probably do. If you have more questions, please ask!

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forum...ady-have-fish-what-now-116287.html#post983258

 

[cwt]

Did you dechlorinate the water you put into the tanks? Leaving in chlorine from tap water will kill or at least retard the growth of the bacteria which convert ammonia to nitrite and nitrate. Chlorine will also hurt the fish.

if not, you need some product to take care of that, like API Stress Coat, Prime or Amquel. Even with a bacterial product like Cycle it will take at least 3 weeks to get the tank cycled, depending on bioload, decor, filters, etc. oh yeah, filters... was the tank a kit that came with a filter? Or did you just buy the tank itself?

 

[Randi]

Update: tetras dead
I used the water conditioner that came with the tank kit. I'm not sure if it neutralized the ammonia in my tap water. I'm now switching to prime. 10 gallon is showing no signs of cylcing, but since I have no fish in the 20gal I have added some household ammonia and am doing a fishless cycle. The 10gal has an UG filter and the 20gal has a HOB. There is some sort of oily film on the surface of the water in the 20gal (it was there before I added ammonia) and I have no idea what it is. Also, my water is very hard.
Any suggestions.

 

[glassbird]

Is your ammonia free of any surfactants? It should say something to that effect on the label. The right type of ammonia is hard to find, and sometimes people get the wrong type without knowing it.

Not sure, but will adding Prime to a tank being cycled with ammonia be counter productive? Prime neutralizes ammonia...I have never fishless cycled, so I may be wrong here.

The one time I had an oily film was because I had not scrubbed a new decoration thoroughly before using it. I learned that a hot water rinse does not always get everything off. Other than that, I cannot think of anything to help there....

Not that you asked, but do you have a powerhead on the UGF in the 10 gallon? Or are you running it with an air pump? I am a fan of UGFs, but always found that they worked epically better with a powerhead.

 

[siva]

After adding prime the ammonia still exsists..it's purpose is only to make it non-toxic to the fish until the bio filter can eat it up..it doesn't stay in affect for long though. Won't affect cycle.

 

[Randi]

Thanks everyone. Things are coming along in my 20 gal. I think the ammonia is OK, the bottle said pure ammonia but there wasn't an ingredient list. Ammonia levels go from 4ppm to .5 in 24 hours but I have yet to see a 0 reading. I have 1ppm nitrites and about 10 nitrAtes. How high will my nitrites go in a spike?
Absolutely nothing is happening in the 10 gal (where I have fish) ammonia level stays around .5 which is the same as my tap water and I am doing water changes with prime every other day.