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The bacteria in the filter media do not survive very long if there is no water flow through the media. You should have moved the filter sponge/bag to the other working filter. I wonder whether there are any bacteria alive on the stopped filter?

My tank has been cycled over 4 months back. I have been regularly changing the water and cleaning the synthetic filter media in my filter. Over time this has expanded and thinned out, due to washing. I need to replace this. Last week I put a new filter material in the tanks filter. I put the...

Your tank is not fully cycled. That is why you have high ammonia levels. Water change every day to reduce these levels. http://www.aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

The tank is infected with the ick protozoan, do the salt water and high temp treatment. See how I did this: http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

Got some cheap water conditioner from big als. works. :good: http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

Check for nitrAte levels to confirm that tank has truly cycled. If you have live plants this might read as zero. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

Treat with salt and high temperatures for 10 days. Medicine will either kill the ick or the fish whichever dies first. Also you will need to treat the whole tank. I treated ick successfully with salt and high temperatures. The plants will most likely not make it. See how I did this treatment...

The nitrite bacteria take the longest time to get setup. Frequent water changes is the way to go. If you can return the fish, it may be better to do so and complete the fishless cycle. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

Your tank has not cycled fully. Check for levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate. Daily water changes to keep these levels close to 0 would be required to keep the fish alive. See how I cycled my tank: http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

If you do not want to treat with medicine, can use salt instead. I treated with salt, see link below: http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/2009/01...-treatment.html

If possible return fish to fish store and complete the fishless cycle. See how I cycled my tank. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

If situation does not improve, add salt to the water. 1 tablespoon to 5 gallons of water. Note that freshwater plants cannot withstand salt for long periods of time. If possible put fish in quarantine tank with salt as above. In about 10 days the fish will be cured. The parasite get killed in...

Do not do a full gravel clean. The beneficial bacteria build up on the gravel, decorations, and mainly filter. Use a python gravel cleaner to do gravel cleaning. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

Bettas are territorial and will chase/nip other fish. I could not keep tetras or rasboras with a betta. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com

Sand is difficult to clean. - If you want to keep catfish, sand is required. Gravel is easier. - I have gravel in my tank. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

Every product in the market will kill the bacteria, even though they claim otherwise. Your best bet is salt and higher temp. This is a guaranteed way to save all the fish without killing them in 10 days. The salt kills the ick parasite (due to osmosis process). The higher temp 85 deg F prevents...

I went through the same issue of finding pure ammonia. Searched every possible store and could not get pure ammonia. I started out with fish flakes, these decomposed and made the plastic pouch in which I had placed the flakes stink. Then Eureka (this may gross you out..) I used my own urine...

Increase temperature of tank to 86 degress F. This speeds up the process. Bacteria multiply faster at elevated temperatures. I was able to cycle my tank in about 10 days, this was a planted tank. That may have helped. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

If you see grains like salt specks on the fish, it is ick. Treat with salt and high treatment. Note that higher temperature and salt is bad for the plants. Otherwise could be internal parasites. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

Buy the biggest size you can afford. Minimum should be 20 gallons. Easy to maintain. You can add plants from the begining or after the cycle is completed. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

Your tank is not fully cycled. Do not add more fish. Ammonia/Nitrite should be 0. Nitrate close to 0. Fish can tolerate nitrate of about 20ppm, anything above stresses them out. To prevent high nitrate buildup add plants. These consume the nitrate. See how I cycled the tank...

Or you can do a fishless cycle. It takes about 10 days in a planted tank. See how I did this: http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

To prevent nitrate buildup, put live plants in the aquarium. These will consume the nitrates and you will have to do less frequent water changes with lesser percentage of change. If buying from LFS, check for snail outbreak. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

This will be difficult. Buy a thermometer. These are cheap. The alcohol based ones are more accurate than the strip stick on type. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/

If you have used 5ppm of ammonia for cycling, you can add about 3/4 of the final tank capacity at once. Water change is required only if you have nitrate readings, otherwise can add fish directly. Check for the fish before buying. These should not have white mouth or white spots around the...

The fish tank may not have finished cycling. Note that Ammonia and Nitrite should be 0ppm. Nitrate close to 0 if having a planted aquarium. Neons can survive only in a fully cycled aquarium. See the following link to see how I setup my aquarium. http://aquarium-setup.blogspot.com/