okay i know.. this is VERY bad.. i have a total of 7 goldfish in a 10 gallon tank.. i already know this is realli bad.. but i had no choice.. my friend gave me 4 goldfish for my birthday.. and i couldnt say " no, i have no room" thats just too mean.. soo i know i am overstocked >< anywayss.. okayy.. soo i had my tank running for... letsee.. 3.5 weeks.. but there seems to be a problem.. my ammonia levels are at like.. 0.3mg/L? well im not sure how it's supose to be measured in.. but yeah... and i guess that's kind of normal for a cycling tank right? >< but i seem to have trouble keeping my nitrites down.. i just changed the water 6 hours ago.. and i just tested it and got.. 1.6mg/L.. i dunno what i should do.. is this considered high? and my water.. if i use conditioner, do i need to leave it out for 24 hours? >< and do algae produce lots of ammonia and nitrite?

You can pretty much consider anything above 0 in either ammonia or nitrite (or combination thereof) as bad for goldfish.

Do water changes. A lot of water changes. Anything to get those numbers down. The things you have to watch out for is temperature and pH of your new water, you don't have to wait 24 hours if you use dechlorinator.

I might even recommend adding some aquarium salt to help ease away any nitrite poisoning your fish may experience; however, keep in mind that even when you get through with your cycle you will see nitrates build up pretty quickly. So it might be in the best interest of you and your fish if you were able to rehouse them in either a new tank or a new home.

Good luck with your water!

Your tank is trying to go through the cycling process,and will continue to be a problem for you. I agree here,as the only thing you can do is to change out water on a daily basis to keep these fish alive. You're so overstocked,that you can't even really worry about cycling your tank,as I think with that many goldies in a 10 gal.,ammonia/Nitrite levels will be off the charts without changing out alot of water,in fact you may have to do it twice a day-depending on size of fish/amount being fed,and actual param readings . Some people have to do 100 % water changes to keep up with it all.Any level of Ammonia/Nitrite is hazardous to your fish-the longer that they're exposed to them,the more problems the fish will have.
Have you looked into the Rubbermaid Bins that they sell? You can come across those at a good price if you shop around,that way you can at least seperate some of these fish.I'm afraid that if you don't,you'll soon find out that your problems have only just begun. How big/what type,and what size /type filter do you have? Do you also have any sort of airstone to help aerate the tank?

its an aqua clear 20... and my fish arent too big.. around... 1- 1.5 inches each.. and no airstone...

Hrm, no matter the size of the goldfish they're still little ammonia factories!

As Devs mentioned, you may want to look at some cheap containers to maximize your water volume (such as rubbermaid bins). In addition, you might want to try to cram in some extra bio-media material into your aquaclear. I don't personally use aquaclears, but I'm sure as long as there's space in the box, you can add extra bio-foam or a baggy of ceramic cylinders, both of which are easily found at your local aquaria petshop.

This will increase the amount of "homes" your bacteria can live in and thereby help with your cycling.

In the meantime, keep doing those water changes!! You won't believe the muscle tone you get from hauling buckets of water.

hmm.. they levels still dont seem to be going down.. my ammonia levels are pretty low, but my nitrite levels are at around... 3.3 ish.. and thats pretty bad right? >< well i've been doing like 50% water changes daily.. and i was wondering. if i keep doing water changes, would my tank ever cycle? anyways.. i was just about to go and change the foam and stuff this weekend soo yeah.. it says i shuld change the carbon every month.. the foam every 2 months.. and the filter eevery 3 months.. so since i have way too many fishes, should i change them 2 times more?

i had this problem a few weeks ago. Lost one of my goldies because of it. I suggest you do 25 - 50 % water changes every day until you get your levels down. Also you should purchase prime. It does not get rid of nitrites it just makes them safe for your fish. do you have any rubber maids that you could put some fish into? that way you are not overstocked. Although then you would need to purchase another filter. My Nitrites would not go down so today i did a 100% water change, and all my params are normal. Good luck.

i actually tried looking for prime too.. but like the people at petcetera said they've never heard of it.... hmm.. well i have a vase thing at home that i can stick 2 goldies in.. the onli problem is i dont have a filter.. should i just leave them in their tank all overstocked or put them in a vase with no filter? ><

so, today im going to go get the new filter changes.. come home change the filter stufff, and then do a water change and feed them peas.. >< wondering if i should add melafix too.. i think some fishies have gotton popeye >< this sucks -.- why did my friend get me so many fishies ><

I wouldn't recommend changing any of your filter media until you get your cycle. If you notice it's getting clogged, just put some of your aquarium water into a bucket and then add the media and bang it carefully against the side. This will dislodge any 'junk' without getting rid of your bacteria.

Changing water shouldn't affect your tank's ability to cycle since the nitrifying bacteria live on surfaces such as your filter media and decorations. The only thing that would affect them is having no source of ammonia, which really isn't a problem in your case.

Good luck, keep us updated on your situation!!