Ammonia

I know what you mean, it can be stressful going through a fish-in cycle. However, once you come through the other side, fishkeeping is a really rewarding hobby and I'm sure you won't regret it if you persevere.

I'm sure you will find Seachem Prime or Seachem Safe on eBay or Amazon and once you start using it your stress levels will decrease and so will those of your fish.

Good luck.

Are the pads made of sponge?

If so then you rarely need to change them, just rinse and squeeze them in the tank water you've removed for a water change. Don't use tap water as this will kill off the friendly bacteria.

If after a year or so they are absolutely clogged up with gunk and rinsing doesn't help, then replace one at a time with a space of about a month inbetween changing each one.


If your filter doesn't have foam or sponge pads, let us know the make and model if you can and we'll see what's what.