Help And Advice Please

[5lider]

hi everyone i have the roma 90ltr tank with the fluval 106 external filter, i bought the tank about the start of june give or take a few days i had it running for about 3 days then added a few fish, sometime around the 30/07/12 i went out and bought the fluval 106 to replace the internal one. i now have in 6 platys 6 neon tetra 2 cory catfish i think there called cory but there small catfish and 1 apple snail and about 5 plants, i think im having trouble with the cycle as im getting alot of ammonia rising even to this day, today the reading was ammonia 0.5 nitaite 0 nitrate 5ppm i did a little water change and ammonia is now 0.25 nitrite 0 nitrate still around 5ppm is this normal bacause ive replaced the filter less then a mouth ago is it still cycling ? also at what ppm reading should i do a water change

 

[alistairw]

I am assuming that you didn't do a fish less cycle before adding your fish? Sounds like you are doing a fish in. Your bacteria is not established in your filter media, which is what gets cycled. When we say are you cycled, we really mean is your filter cycled.

Essentially, you have no bacteria to process the ammonia through the nitrogen cycle - lethal ammonia to lethal nitrite to not so bad nitrate. Any amount of ammonia will kill your fish.

Have a read through the beginners section and do some massive water changes, as many as needed to get the ammonia to the only acceptable level - 0 ppm. If you have to do one after the other, then so be it!

Good luck!