Questions on pH and Ammonia levels in my tank

Sergical said:

I did a 75% water change on my 10 gallon tank about a week ago. I did a pH and Ammonia test a couple days after and another one today.
The results came back the same and are as follows:
pH - 7.6
Ammonia - 8.0ppm

The fish in the tank seems fine? And don't seem to be suffering. The tap water in my city has high levels of ammonia and a high pH.
I was told my fish tank is overcrowded for a 10 gallon.
My fish are: 1 guppy, 3 platys, 3 corys, 2 neon tetras and 2 snails. Could the overstocking be the cause of the high ammonia? If so what about the pH? What should I do.

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JuiceBox52 said:

It is overstocked. They could be a cause of high ammonia. This is a deadly level of ammonia. Do a 75% or more water change every day until it reaches zero.

How often do you normally do water changes and how much do you change out each time?

Cories need at least 6 of each type and neons also need more than 6.

Neons and cories are soft water species while the other species require hard water. Depending on which you have one or the other will suffer and be prone to disease. They will die early.
Do you know your GH? You can probably find it on your local water providers website

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Colin_T said:

Are you sure the ammonia level is 8ppm?
Retest the tank and tap water for ammonia, nitrite nitrate and pH.

If the ammonia level is above 5ppm, the beneficial filter bacteria will not convert it into nitrite.

Reduce feeding to once every couple of days and do a 75% water change every day until the ammonia is down to 0.

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How do you clean the filter?
How often do you clean the filter?

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essjay said:

If the ammonia tester reads the highest colour on the chart it could be more than 8 ppm.

At these levels, the fish should be dead, which does suggest something wrong with the test kit.
Do you have any water that is known to be ammonia free - bottled water for example - that you could test to see what reading that shows?

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Byron said:

Without the colour chart next to the bottles in the photo I cannot tell what they are. But like Colin [and essjay who posted while I was typing] I question the ammonia result...if it really is 8.0 I cannot see how the fish could be alive.

You also need to sort out what exactly is in the tap water. Test it alone for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Check with your water authority to see if they use chloramine (this can influence ammonia tests). Test the tap water alone for pH as well, remembering to out-gas any CO2 (only needed for fresh tap water).

The GH of 6.2--is this 6.2 dGH or 6.2 ppm? Or is it actually pH?

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essjay said:

I am bit confused as to how the GH can measure 6.2 ppm as testers, liquid or strip, can't measure it that accurately.
What are you using to test GH?

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