High amonia / low nitrite / nitrate

Question
Hi there, Id appreciate any advice on the following concern.

We own a 40L freshwater heated aquarium and it has been cycling for almost 4 weeks now. I have been doing home tests of ammonia and nitrate and only recently started to test nitrite too.

We had trouble at the beginning with high levels of ammonia which resulted in some fish dying. We have been doing daily water changes 10-25% and weekly changes of 50%-75% and added "Prime" (Ammonia, chlorine neutralizer) and Bio Cultures to the filter and tank.

Levels of nitrite and nitrate are now at zero, but ammonia still sits around 1.0ppm

No further fish have died, and the two left (Clown Cloatch and Magana) (spelling may be wrong sorry) appear in good health.

We have one plant inside the tank which appears in reasonable condition but we also has some algae growing inside the tank.

Appreciate any advice or info as to why the ammonia is high but nitrite/nitrate is low

Tim and Beccy

Answer
Hi Tim and Beccy

You're doing things all wrong, You should never change more than 30% of the water weekly. This is especially true in an aquarium that is still cycling.

You also added too many fish at one time. In a 40L tank, you should only add a couple of small fish to let it cycle. The cycle process takes 4-8 weeks, but will take much longer if not done correctly.

In a cycling tank, you will get ammonia first, then nitrite and finally nitrate.

What I suggest you do now, is small frequent water changes, no more than 10-15% every few days. Change the carbon in your filter once a month in a cycling tank. Feed the fish sparingly, it is important not to overfeed. Test your water regularly and do not add any more fish until your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels all read at or near 0.

Here is a link to help you further with the cycle process...

http://www.firsttankguide.net/cycle.php

Hope this information is helpful to you, good luck!

Richard