New Tank Cycling

Question
Trish: We started with a 10 gal about 2 1/2 years ago for our granddaughter. About 3 months ago the platys began multiplying which 4 frys survived (different sizes) but we also had a rainbow shark which the sales person neglected to advise of the size.  So we now have a 29 gal. Which has been up for 3 weeks.  I transferred the rainbow shark Tues. 3/25, checked the water the ammonia and ph was .50 and 8.4 respectfully.  The pet store said not great but not too critical, change about 10% of the water.  I did, rechecked water 3/27 levels dropped to .45 and 8.0, I added 2 baby platys 1/4 size of adults.  All 3 fish are eating and active.  I bought my own water testing kit and checked today.  Here is the question.  The ph seemes in normal range, high end, the ammonia reads about .45.  I am confused being new to all of this should I continue to remove 10-25% of the water until levels are better or leave the tank alone and let the cycle do its own adjusting. I would like to add remainder of fish from 10 gal.  Slowly of course, but am concerned what to do with the numbers and also the water was clear during the first week and now stays somewhat cloudy not bad.  Also what is better I have a Aqua clear filter for 20-50 gal tank. Should I keep the water flow on high or low? Sorry for the length of this question.


Answer
Hi Judy.  I would not add ANY MORE (for emphasis only) fish until you stabilize and finish cycling.  It may wreak havoc on your fish and tank if you do.  Just have a little patience.  If you look up or have read the cycling system, first you have the ammonia spike, then that goes down and your nitrites spike and that goes down and your nitrates spike and then when THEY go down and stay down, your tank is done.  Sounds fast, but it takes time.  The more fish you have in there, the longer it's going to take, believe it or not.  AND, you risk losing the fish you have in there now if you don't keep the levels in an acceptable range.  So, I would suggest that you DO change 1/3 of the water as necessary to keep the levels safe for the fish you do have in there now.  Be careful with the fry as they are far less able to handle the changes in the water as adult fish. I would rather see you put them back in to the other tank and put the adults in. They are more suited to handle the changing tank conditions.  The "babies" are fragile.

You really should invest in a "Master Water Test Kit", which will test all the major water parameters, ammonia-nitrites-nitrates-PH.

For a great forum to have all your questions answered quickly, you should joint http://groups.msn.com/EverythingAquatic/ .  It is run by a friend of mine who has 30+ years experience in fishkeeping and it is a wonderful, informative forum, that can help you a lot and you won't have to "wait" for your answers.

Good luck!