Nitrite/Ammonia Levels

Question
-How long has your tank been set up? 3 weeks
-How big? 20 Gallons
-What type of fish? Fresh Water
-How many? 2 Dojo Loaches, 1 Goldfish, 1 Placaustamus
-Type of filter? Whisper20-40 (brand new just bought it)
-ammonia,nitrite? Ammonia anywhere between.25-3.0 ppm/ Nitrite (.5 - 3.0 ppm) Nitrate (10 - 20ppm)
-How often do you change water? 25% changes when Nitrite/ammonia levels are high
-How much water? 2 inches from the top.

Now my problem is our Nitrite and Ammonia Levels do not seem to go down no matter how many water changes we do. When/If we do get them to a safe level it only takes 3 days for them  to skyrocket again :(
Do you think I should just get rid of my Gold fish? I heard they are very dirty and contribute to alot of the ammonia....Thank you for your time.

Answer
Hi Cree;

The goldfish does produce a lot of waste. They are also a cold water fish and plecostamus are tropical. Take the goldfish back to the store but don't buy any new fish yet. The main reason ammonia and nitrites are high is due to "New Tank Syndrome", the goldfish only made it worse. You can change 25% of the tank water even every day if needed until it settles down. It may take another 3 to 5 weeks, but it will happen.

If your tank doesn't have a heater, get one so the plecostomus is more comfortable and doesn't get sick. Also get a thermometer so you can keep it at 76f to 78f. Once it gets established and fully through the break-in, you could add tropicals such as platies, tetras, cory cats etc. Just start slow and only add a couple of them once a week until it's at the population you want. Here are some sites that may help you, starting with my own page about new tanks;

http://www.xanga.com/Expert_Fish_Help

http://www.firsttankguide.net/capacity.php

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/beginnerinfo/a/fishcalc.htm

http://badmanstropicalfish.com/charts/good_bad.html

http://fins.actwin.com/mirror/begin.html

http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/aquariumstartup/a/newtankmistakes.htm

I hope all goes well...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins