wow thanks guys... tough love was all i needed... hmm i didnt know that you needed fish in the tank to cycle it.. and i thought that water changes help out with the nitrate and ammonia levels... hmm i guess i have some researching to do..
well i used bio balls from previous tank setup... BUT.. my jardini got fin rot in that tank... maybe high levels of ammonia from not cycling wwel enough..
i would do daily 25%-50% water changes for a while just to get things straightened out. always works for me. some will say that is too much, but i do daily 50-60% on my orino growout with nothing but good results. i believe in water changes and salt to fix most things. i can't tell you the last time i bought any sort of chemical other than dechlor, specifically prime.