Cycling Fish Tank Problem

Question
Hi,
I have a 26 gallon bow front tank.

The filtration is a hang on filter sized to filter up to 40 gallons of water. We also have an air stone.

We set the tank up 4 weeks ago.

We have 3 mollies, 2 neons, 2 diamond tetras, and an alage eater in the tank. They were added gradually, all are still small fish.

My last readings were:
ammonia: high
nitrite: normal
nitrate: normal
pH: normal
temp: 74

As mentioned above, we bought and set the tank up 4 weeks ago. After letting the water cycle for one week, we started adding fish a few at a time. (We used Cycle and also added stuff to get the chlorine out.)

We vacume our gravel once a week, and do a 20% water change. Everything was fine until last week.

A week ago, I noticed the ammonia levels creeping up, and the water got cloudy.

I added Ammo Chips to my filter media. (Thus, my filter cartridge now has carbon and Ammo Chips.)

When I tested the water again, the ammonia was still high, so I added Ammo Lock to the water.

The next day, the tank was crystal clear. However, a day later, the water was cloudier than before and the ammonia levels were way up.

I added more Ammo Lock to the water. That brought the ammonia levels down to the "Stressful" level.

Since the ammonia is still so high and the water so cloudy, I decided to do a 20% water change every day and try not to add any more chemicals because I know the tank is probably still cycling.

When I tested the water earlier this evening the ammonia level was between the stressful and harmful level. So I went ahead and added more ammonia remover.

I am using Quick Dip test strips to test the ammonia levels. The fish don't seem stressed the way they do when the ammonia is high like that. They are eating normally, swimming normally, etc.

I have other tanks and have had tanks for years. I am beginning to wonder if the test strips could be wrong (?) because although the water is cloudy, there is no odor and the fish don't seem upset. Plus, when I have had other tanks cycle and the ammonia is high, the nitrites and nitrates also usually rise. I have never had a tank with just the ammonia rise like that.

I was wondering if you know if the test strips are a good kit to test for ammonia?

And also, am I doing the right thing by changing 20% of the water until the ammonia is gone?

What can I do to lower the ammonia more quickly? I don't want to keep adding chemicals every day, but I don't know what else to do. Although my fish don't seem stressed I know how dangerous ammonia is to them.

Thank you for taking time to help me.

Answer
Hi Jay,
I found this question in the 'Question Pool of Unanswered questions', sorry for the slow response.

Don't add chemicals to the tank while it is cycling. It slows down the cycling process, and in fact, may kill the beneficial bacteria which are trying to remove the ammonia. The chemicals you are adding are probably killing the bacteria, so this explains why you are experiencing going over the whole process - over and over again!

Here's what to do:
-Keep changing 20% of the water daily
-Stop adding chemicals to the water
-Keep adding Cycle
-Get a better test kit, that does not use strips, but rather, a tube where you drop water into it, as well as the indicator liquid. Those are more accurate.

Good Luck, and best wishes!