I'm looking for some help...

[tjohnson139]

OK... I'll start out by saying I'm a moron... I realize this now. But I'm hoping some of you more experienced people will be able to help fix my mistakes.
I got a Nano 29 gallon about 5 weeks ago. When I got it running, I immediately added 30 lbs of live rock and 20 lbs of live sand. My lfs guy talked me into also starting the cycle with 2 chromis and a coral-banded shrimp. I didn't want to do it, but he said if I put Aqua Plus Cycle in the tank, I'll be just fine and they won't die.
They died... rather quickly. The shrimp lived and is still alive today, but the chromis did not. I read somewhere that if you let them rot in the tank, that helps speed the bacteria. So, I let them rot for a week or so. I pulled them out and viola. All 0s on my water tests across the board. I said "Yea!!!" and ran back to the lfs. The lfs guy said "Yea!" and gave me two more Chromis. The ammonia went back up a little, but I kept it under control with daily water changes. A week later I added two clowns, 2 snails and 10 hermits. I had algae so a week later I added a lawnmower blenny.
My ammonia levels now will not go down. I keep them in constant check and do 5 gallon daily water changes and add Kent's Pro ammonia detox to the tank to keep the ammonia at .50 or below. I also add the Aqua Plus Cycle almost daily as well as a powdered bacteria that's supposed to help kick start the bacteria even more. I modified the tank and removed the filter and now wrap activated carbon into filter floss and change 50 percent of it every week. I also wash the sponge out near the pump once a week.
So, I admit I made a lot of mistakes. Here's my question now: I need to fix this. Are my ammonia levels still high because I didn't give the tank enough time to cycle? Is it forever doomed? Or is it still just trying to adjust to the fish I've added and will drop on its own soon? If I didn't give it enough time to cycle, will the ammonia detox keep it from cycling properly? I'm under the impression that it just detoxifies the ammonia and does not remove it. So the bacteria should still flourish, but the ammonia just won't be toxic... right? I've also heard that ammonia detox removes oxygen from the water so I put an air stone in the pump compartment to feed a little more oxygen into the tank.
My fish look happy and healthy now, but I stay on top of it daily. It's just getting expensive and annoying to do tests and changes every day.
Thanks for your help in advance!!

 

[siptang]

yea, by the sound of it, your tank is still cycling and things are still dying probably in the live rock. + ammonia soon to be nitrate and the whole cycle.
I had done this my first time in the hobby little over 10 years ago and I'm guessing, you probably don't have enough bacteria to break down all the organic waste. (poop and urine) Sure, cuc help but sometimes you need more then that.
I can suggest nite out product, along with frequent mini water changes.
it will jump start the bacteria levels to break these down a bit.
Let me know if it helps and I hope everyone makes it out alive.

 

[wargasm]

I would recommend removing at least two of those fish. It seems like the bio-load may be a little taxing on your system. In other words, the fish are creating more waste than the system can handle at the moment. How much and how often are you feeding? If you are over feeding then that will contribute to the problem as well. I could be wrong but I bet this has something to do with it as well.

 

[btldreef]

Why, oh why are local fish stores like thisto customers?!?
Anyways, return all fish and inverts. Stop water changes and stop adding anything out of a bottle, it's garbage. Go to your supermarket and get 1 raw cocktail shrimp. You can search the new hobbyist section here or just google how to cycle a tank with raw shrimp.
Your tank is going to be doomed if you don't get some good denitrifying bacteria colonies going and this can't be done with daily water changes. Basically you're removing too much daily in an effort to save your fish, and it'll be a never ending process for you.
What exactly do you mean when you say that you wrap the carbon in the filter floss?

 

[saxman]

Another thing to consider is the ammonia (NH3) detox stuff you're using won't REMOVE the NH3, but it binds it up, thus detoxifying it, so unless you have a NH3 test kit that doesn't use a salicylate-type reagent you'll still get a reading. These kits read TOTAL ammonia, and don't differentiate between BOUND ammonia and FREE NH3, so your tank could have no more FREE NH3, but the test will tell you differently.
Altho it's not necessary, you can help your cycle along by adding a small-size bottle of Super-Bac to it. We use it in emergencies for uncycled QT's and whatnot, and it really helps bump up the biofiltration...haven't lost a fish this way.
For cycling, we typically use the same method Tommy Lynn describes...table shrimp or fish chunks. We hang them in a little net media bag for easy removal.