Definitely get a liquid test kit, E-bay seems to be the best place to get them from. I got mine for £18 inc postage
I honestly think with 1.5ppm Cl in the tap water that it will have been enough to kill off a decent amount of bacteria in the filter when you cleaned it in tap water, but hopefully (and probably) not all. I think you'd find that after doing an ammonia test you have quite high levels in the tank.
Agreed with Kizz you should be doing reasonable sized water changes every day/ every other day until you can get an ammonia test kit at the very least. Ammonia levels above 0.25ppm can and more than likely WILL cause long lasting health problems for the fish. More than likely resulting in a premature death.
I'm sure the guy has been keeping tropicals for over 20+ years, which probably means he wont be willing to listen to any advice other than what he was given in the beginning. Because HE has been keeping fish for 20+ years then HE knows best. I'm not saying he doesn't look after his fish well...but tell him you're going to fish less cycle a tank and then watch him give you a look as though you're a piece of slime that just squirmed out of the sea!
I would advise against ever adding chemicals to your tank that replace good husbandry. If you want to lower nitrates, do a water change, don't add a chemical. You don't know how any chemicals you add to the tank will affect your fish in the long run, so if it isn't necessary then why risk it?
The 'confusing' bit about your tap water results that I think you were referring to was the pH? If so, chances are it's just dissolved CO2 in the water. When dissolved in water CO2 lowers the pH. You could try leaving some tap water overnight and then testing the pH in the morning if you like. But I'm pretty sure that it will be dissolved CO2 that just needs to gas out, which it will do in your tank as it is no longer under the same pressure as it is in your pipes.
I'm not sure what 'carbon impregnated sponge' is, but I'd take a guess it's just a fancy name for some activated carbon sponges. Used for removing traces of medicines, tannins and a couple of other things I can't actually remember. Either ways, they're normally a bit more expensive than your bog standard sponges, and they're good for the end of a course of treatment to remove the medicines from the water. But their 'active' quality doesn't last very long, so soon they go back to being normal sponges that just look a bit different.
Did you replaces all of the media in the filter or say...half? If you replaced ALL of the sponge, then you are DEFINITELY at the beginning of a fish in cycle. If you only replaced SOME of the media, then coupled with the washing in tap water, you're probably still in a fish-in cycle situation. But will be much further along.
Also what made you think they needed replacing? Many people don't replace them unless they're literally falling apart, have holes in them, etc etc. I can't remember the last time I got any new filter pads unless I actually bought a new filter
lol.
Normally a quick swish around in tank water to remove the built up debris, whilst you're doing your weekly water change, will do the job.
The chinese algae eater IS A KILLER!!!!!!!! Please just take my word for it. You might be lucky and as it matures it MIGHT not kill any fish. But frankly I doubt it. I had one that went from a lovely little algae eater to a cold blooded fish killer. I know 100's more people on here that have had the same experiences. Better to re-home it now while you still can. But hey, it is your decision at the end of the day. *shrug*
I think that covers everything...
ps. Sorry I sounded grumpy before, but it really annoys me when lfs prey on people new to fish keeping. I totally understand how you would go "Well this guy has been keeping fish a long time so he must know his stuff etc etc". But chances are he doesn't still actively try to learn about his hobby (generalisation I know!) and secondly he wants your money. The more he can convince you that you need the more he earns.
