high ammonia levels

Question
hi,i bought and set up a 20 gallon salt water tank on the 18th of may. it has a aqueon power filter 20 that came with it. the fish shop also threw in 20 gallons of salt water.i bought 3 blue damsels on the 20th, which abruptly died the next day.i went back to the fish store after testing my water and the clerk recommended nitromax every other day for a week. as of today (5/27/08) my test results are as follows: ammonia- 1.0 ,ph-7.8 to 7.9 ,nitrite-0 ppm, nitrate- 0 ppm .  do you have any suggestions for lowering my ammonia level? i'm adding baking soda to bring up my ph but i'm at a loss about the ammonia. also as of now there are no fish in the tank. any suggestions (especially home remedies to try first) would be greatly appreciated. thank you.

Answer
Hi Joy,
  I have limited experience with salt water tanks. First, however, I recommend that you set up the tank and let it run for a week or so before adding any fish.  

  When you got the saltwater, how long did it sit in the bucket before you put it in the tank?  If it was a long time, it is possible that the little organisms that were alive in the water died from lack of oxygen and then this poisoned the new tank when you put that water in.

-- Ron
  rcoleman@cichlidresearch.com
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