tell him to get another pH test kit
i doubt the current one is reliable anymore
next, how are his water changes coming along?
so long as he does small water changes frequently, he shouldn't have that many fish losses
next, nitrate is the ENDPRODUCT of the biological cycle, and doing frequent water changes doesn't matter, because so-called cycling is a dynamic process, and eventually it'll reach a balance
just ask him to keep on changing water in small amounts, about 15% say twice a wk, and see the results
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