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Lady Hobbs, I understand what you are saying, and yeah, "mulm" is usually what one can get at an lfs, and it's useless.
However, OP said "fish waste", which could be the fish poop lfs sucked from...

Fish waste must have produced some ammonia, but only a little bit, not enough of it to give you a whole cycle. The ammonia it did produce was probably neutralized by whatever bacteria was in the...

Even once a day can be too much. I found that with my tanks, once a day feeding drives nitrates way up and invites pest snails infestation. I feed every other day.
Fish are just fine with feeding...

There is nothing in the canister that can create toxins, the parts in it are essentially the same as in a HOB - plastic surroundings that house sponges and porous media for bacteria.
Now, if you...

Thanks korith!

Thanks a lot Rhaethe! That's what I was trying to find.

I remember reading about a small online store specializing in freshwater nano fish and, I think, inverts. I can't find the link now that I want it. Does anybody have it please?

I don't see any point in yanking it all out. You just need to start putting in ammonia and test often to see what's going on. Even in the worst case, if it turns out that all the old bacteria died,...

Привет. Russian here as well. Welcome to the forum.

Wow, those are expensive. Just went to check, out of curiosity. American Marine Pinpoint Nitrate Monitor at Amazon: $248.77!
But I suppose that's the only other option if you can't tell the API...

I've never seen them in a store. I got mine on Aquabid.

The usual procedure for washing test tubes in a chemical lab is first rinse them with hot tap water, then with cleaner water (in the lab we use distilled, but in your case dechlorinated will do), and...

I second the assassin snails suggestion. I got 3 for my 10 Gal that was getting taken over by ramshorn snails. In about 2 months, only several mature huge ramshorn snails were left. They still are...

They should be ok for a couple of days. Some parts of high light plants may start rotting, but not in a major way. Low and medium light plants will probably be completely fine. I had medium and low...

I wouldn't add any more fish to your tank. According to your other post, you have "15 guppies, at least 10 sword tails and 2 yellow gouramis". That sounds like full stocking for a 35g.

Yes, that is exactly what you would expect to happen. You added pure water. All concentrations went down.
You need to keep doing large and frequent water changes like that if you don't want your...

Aquarium Pharmaceuticals (API) Freshwater /Saltwater Nitrite Test Kit is one of the best.
http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Pharmaceuticals-Freshwater-Saltwater-Nitrite/dp/B001EUE7X6

Yes, looks like I have. Thanks!

A pic of my angel with what I now think is "blush".

Thanks genocidex, I am using it all the time. I'll add a little more just in case.
I just discovered that some angelfish are actually bred to have red gills. It is called "blushing" and looks very...

What else may cause reddening of gills?
I tested for ammonia as soon as I noticed the redness, it was zero and is still zero now.
There was no water change or any sort of cleaning activity...

About once every two to three month, or when I happen to notice that flow is diminished.

You could try offering them to your local fish store. Some people are able to get some store credit or freebies in exchange for that. That's worth trying, but doesn't work at every store.
You could...

Please post what the pH is exactly. People here will need to know that to respond. Also, "low pH" means acidic conditions, not alkaline.
Smallish differences in pH don't harm the fishless cycle or...

I would also throw some fish food in before you leave. Pellets for carnivorous fish would be best for that. They would soon start gradually decomposing, producing the needed ammonia for several days.