problems with new set up

Question
My small 20L tank has been running for 2 weeks. It was crystal clear until 2 days ago now it looks like pea soup! I was cycling it with 3 guppies who seemed happy and 1 of them had fry. I transferred guppies and fry to another mature tank because I could hardly see them. Tank is not clearing at all. After moving the guppies I put 3 frozen prawns in. Today ammonia is 1 and nitrite is at highest level. What should I be doing please.

Answer
Hello,

If your water is completely cloudy like pea soup, and the ammonia and nitrites are horrible and you have a mature tank to keep your guppies in I would recommend dumping your 20 L and starting again.

Clean all the decorations and the filter and add all fresh water to it.

Once it has been going for the 24 hour period, you can re-add your guppies to get it cycling. This time though, follow some of these suggestions to keep your water from getting to a horrible quality again. Of course, it is natural that ammonia and nitrites will peak but hopefully these suggestions will help to keep your water clear and prevent any fish loss.

1) Change 10% of your water every week and syphon your gravel.

2) Clean the filter media in a bucket of aquarium water every week. You should change the carbon every month and the sponge every 2 months.

3) Scrub/scrape the algae off the glass.

4) Add Cycle (or another cycling product) when you fill your tank, and with weekly maintenance. You can also add a product called Waste Control with Cycle which will help keep waste in check.

5) Monitor your ammonia every couple of days so that you can begin more frequent water changes when it goes up. As ammonia starts to peak/go down you should begin to also monitor nitrites every day/couple of days. Cycle will help control both of these, and you may need to add some extra Cycle during these peak times.

I hope something here will be able to help you.

Regards,
Stephanie