Water change advice: Does this sound right?

[ntvflgirl]

I have a bit of ammonia and nitrates. Ammonia between .25 and .50, and nitrates at 10. Went to lfs just to check my results, and he said my specific gravity was a bit high. 1.024. He said to put one and a half cups of Instant ocean in 5 gallons of water. I'm doing a 20% water change as we speak. Tang is kinda hanging around the bottom back corner, not doing much. When I check specific gravity in the bucket with the hydrometer, it doesn't even register. What should I do? Is he right about the sg? My water is sitting in my bucket waiting on a reply. TIA
Rory

 

[buzz]

Your LFS is wrong...your spec. gravity is not too high. 1.023 to 1.024 is perfect IMO. I keep mine at 1.023.
Ammonia is a problem...anything above 0 is too much. Nothing dead in the tank? What kind of water are you using for the changes? If it isn't RO water, you may want to consider changing.
20% is good for a change...
Your nitrates are fine...mine are around 15.

 

[ntvflgirl]

Buzz,
I'm using "drinking water" from walmart. It says UV light sterilization, ozonation, and micron filtration. It used to say reverse osmosis...but doesn't anymore. Is this okay? the LFS guy said that the salinity is causing my tang to stress? I've been studying a little about sailfins, but haven't found anything out about what salinity they like.

 

[mr . salty]

Trust us,,,Your salinity is fine...This is not what is stressing the tang,,If anything it is that ammonia..You need to try and figure out where that(ammo) is comming from.Asbuzz said"anything but ZERO is too much"..
Have you added anything new to the tank recently???
Has anything diedin the past couple days???
test your wallmart water and see if it has ammonia in it..

 

[ntvflgirl]

Believe me, I trust ya'll alot more than I trust those clowns at the lfs. One of them won't even talk to me. I think it's because I'm a woman!! Anyway, I have added a sailfin and a fighting conch over a 2 day period. Every thing is accounted for. I only have the sailfin, conch and a sally lightfoot. I can't imagine that I am stressing my bioload. Anyway, Thanks for the advice. I'm off to check my walmart water.
Rory