water going nuts

Question
Sunday night, one of my elder fish died.  We didn't realize till Monday that he was missing.  We looked and looked and couldn't find him.  I should have immediately did a 20 or 30 percent change, but time really didn't allow for that, so the water became a bit cloudy, from ammonia from the missing carcass. Yesterday, I did a 30 percent change, found the carcass and removed it, but my water is still cloudy.  I also found upon testing the water the nitrate was very high and the ph was acidic.  All my levels had been fine prior to this all happening.  I don't want to lose anymore fish.  Is my tank recycling?  Is there anything I can do to stabilize it? Or should I just do daily changes?  I'm at a loss here.  My tank was established and had been with really good levels for well over six months.  Please help.

Answer
Hi Kelly,
Daily water changes are definitely the key here. I don't think your tank is recycling at this point. It has an imbalance from low ph and high nitrates that time and water changes will help reverse and eventually return your tank back to normal.

Give it about 1-2 weeks of daily water changes (30% or so) and it should be stablized by then.

I hope this helps and good luck!
Susan~