Please, Help!

[CJH0825]

I have done water changes 2 times daily, ( 50% ) added dechlorinator ( even tho my water has no chlorine in it ), nothing new has been added to the tank in 3 weeks, Tank has been up and running for almost 2 months now and my ammonia has spiked! For the last 4 days my ammonia has been testing at 8.0 ( API master test kit ). After doing water changes ( 50% ), I check my levels 1 - 2 hrs later and my ammonia is still at 8.0. My nitrites are 0.25 and my nitrAtes have a little orange tint to it. Ph is where it has always been ( 7.4 ) so I have no idea what more I can do now. I added Seachem Prime yesterday. Stocking is as follows...
 
9 Brilliant Rasbora
5 Pineapple Swordtail
4 Kuhli Loach
1 Golden Rainbow Shark ( currently he is 3" )
1 Red Wag Platy
 
In the past 2 days I have had 5 fish die : Spotted Pictus Cat, 1 Red Wag Platy, 1 Painted Swordtail, 1 Pineapple Swordtail, 1 Sunset Platy
 
Any idea what I can do to get my ammonia levels down?!
 

 

[attibones]

I think the only thing you can do is rehome your fish until you get it all sorted. You're the one who went to have the water tested and got different results from your home test, correct? I wonder if it isn't worth getting a new kit as well. Your tank is still cycling, and with your level of stocking it isn't surprising that there is ammonia. However, 8.0 is indeed fatal. Can you move the fish out for a while?

 

[DrRob]

Assuming that your water source is free of ammonia, then ammonia remaining at 8 after a 50% water change means either it was over 16 before you started and you've halved the levels to still above 8, which is all the test kit can tell you, or you have a source of ammonia in the tank.
 
I'd start with 2 simple things. 1st do a huge water change, you need to get the ammonia out of the system before the filter turns it all into nitrite as that level will nuke the whole tank and you'll have nothing at all left, assuming the biofilter is working at all.
 
2nd clear out anything decaying, be it debris or dead fish or general gunk from the tank.
 
I do wonder about where your biofilter is, as levels like this are unusual without killing the whole tank, as the nitrite level a working biofilter will produce from those sorts of ammonia levels should be lethal. If you've not got a working biofilter then you're going to be in a whole heap of trouble with that many fish in the tank trying to cycle the tank.

 

[CJH0825]

I have nowhere to move the fish to! Everything was running as normal up until 4 days ago, Then everything went to heck. I have nothing in the tank that is decaying or dead. I have removed all décor and checked everything. All fish are accounted for. I'm thinking about doing a complete tear down and starting over ( empty all water, clean all décor and substrate ). I'm so frustrated.
 
I did add pool filter sand in the tank, However, I put it over my substrate that was already in the tank. Could that have caused it, Putting the sand over the current substrate covered the bacteria that was in it?

 

[DoubleDutch]

Test your tapwater. Maybe you will read ammonia there as well !!! If so throw away your test. Did you clean your filter or was it off for some time?

 

[CJH0825]

Figured it out!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I took everything out of my tank due to frustration, Took all my filters apart and found a Kuhli had swam up one of my filter tubes and got stuck and died. Yuck!!! I'll spare the gruesome details, But now after finding that and putting 50g of water back in the tank and everything all clean ( except for the filter media and cartridges I did not clean) my ammonia level is back to 0.25. 

 

[DoubleDutch]

Ok!!!! Sorry for your Kuhli!!