Need Help with my tank

Question
QUESTION: My aquarium is about a month old.  I cannot tell if it ever cycled.  It started well but now I am getting a PH reading of 6, ammonia reading is 8, nitrite reading is .5, nitrate reading is 0. The fish are living but i cannot get the levels back to where they should be.  The tank looks a little cloudy.  Is it bacteria bloom?  Should I do a water change. I was not changing the water to see if I was cycling and it would clear up.  But nothing is working.  Please help.

ANSWER: Your test kit must be wrong.

There is no way ammonia could be 8ppm with fish still alive. After 5ppm, nothing can survive, not even bacteria. How old is the test and what kind is it?

Either way, you can tell from the nitrite and nitrate that the tank is not cycled. You should do 35% water changes every other day, but do not touch the gravel, until the tank is cycled.

-Nick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Nick,
Thanks for geting back to me.  it is the standard chemican testing where i take 5ml into a testtube and then add the drops.  I did put ammo lock in the tank so maybe that is throwing it off.  So I did not cycle yet?  I am running 2 dolphin 200 biowheel filters on a 55 gallon tank.  I think I may have overstocked the tank too soon.  Petsmart told me it was ok to add 6 fish wheni started it then did 3 more three days after that.  Is 35% too much that is like 4-5 buckets (i use a 5 gallon bucket for water changes)?  How will I know when it starts to cycle or when it is finished cycling?

Answer
You are right, the ammo lock is probably throwing it off.

Yes, you did overstock the tank too soon, but no reversing that.

35% is not too much. When the tank cycles you can do 25% twice a week instead.

You can tell a tank has started cycling when there is some nitrite. Therefore, your tank has started cycling.

You can tell a tank is finished cycling when there is absolutely no ammonia or nitrite, and there is nitrate. Usually about 10-40ppm of it right after the cycle. And just as a side note, you want nitrate under 20ppm, but even lower if possible. 10ppm is a good number.

-Nick