mini-cycle?

[ionredline0260]

Just set my 29 gallon up 4 days ago and tested water perams last night, PH was 8.2 nitrates where 10(mg/l) salinity was 1.022. So a friend of mine said to add some fish food. a good heavey pinch. Done and done. The amonia has now spiked to 0.25 over night. Next I should see nitrite then nitrate spike correct? then after it's done do a water change to help lower nitrates? do I have this correct or am I doing some thing wrong?

[steri]

So far so good, except I would not do a water change until the cycle in over at say the 4 week mark, or until your numbers have stabalized for 10-14 days, but thats just my opinion. The fish food idea was a good idea by your friend to help jump start your cycle.

Keep doing what you're doing, testing your water regularly. After a couple of weeks, the bacteria in your tank will start to build up and you'll see the numbers start to go down. Good luck!

[steri]

Oh, and yes, expect the Nitrites and Nitrates to spike.