Hang on a minute @Jazon Z. What is the pH an temp of your tank? Ammonia (NH3) in water turns mostly into ammonium (NH4). Ammonia is doing damage at 0.05 ppm. But, how much of this is in your 0.50 reading can only be determines if we know the pH and Temp. The higher these are, the more of the ammonia is in the toxic form.
Nitrite can be handled by adding a small amount of salt aka sodium chloride, in order to get the chloride into the water. It blocks the nitrite from entering the fish via the gills. Water changes always act to slow a cycle. So they should be done only with cause and not because most folks do not understand the above and always say you should do a water change no matter what.
Re a softener. Do you know how it does the softening exchange? Often they use salt.
Next, what is in your source water that makes you use a whole house softener? Mollies like harder water= 15-30 dH. They also like a bit of salt.
Nitrite can be handled by adding a small amount of salt aka sodium chloride, in order to get the chloride into the water. It blocks the nitrite from entering the fish via the gills. Water changes always act to slow a cycle. So they should be done only with cause and not because most folks do not understand the above and always say you should do a water change no matter what.
Re a softener. Do you know how it does the softening exchange? Often they use salt.
from http://fins.actwin.com/aquariafaq.html click on Your First AquariumTypical home water softeners soften water using a technique known as ``ion exchange''. That is, they remove calcium and magnesium ions by replacing them with sodium ions. Although this does technically make water softer, most fish won't notice the difference. That is, fish that prefer soft water don't like sodium either, and for them such water softeners don't help at all. Thus, home water softeners are not an appropriate way to soften water for aquarium use.
Next, what is in your source water that makes you use a whole house softener? Mollies like harder water= 15-30 dH. They also like a bit of salt.