should I do a water change? *test results*

[faisal629]

Hey guys my tank has been cycling for >3 weeks now, I started with 120 lbs of cured dry rock and added couple pieces of live rock, due to my lack of knowledge back then i added 2 chromies which lasted 2 days, I took one body out and could not find the other so I let it rot in the tank so it could give me a good cycle + lots of ghost feeding.
about a week ago I saw my nitrIte spike
today my test results are...
ammonia 1PPM
nitrIte >5PPM
nitrAte ~50PPM
PH 8.2
SG 1.024
temp 80 F

should I do a water change or leave it alone till everything reaches 0?
I used to keep freshwater fish before and have a habit of doing a water change when nitrAtes are high.
Thanks in advance for the help.

[Peter T]

I would wait until your ammonia and nitrite reaches zero and stays at zero for at least a week before I do the water change. When, your ammonia and nitrite reaches zero, keep the tank "fed" so the bacteria does not die-off.

[BossHoggin]

^good advice! Feel free to make it a substantial one to help with the nitrates which will certainly still rise as the ammonia and nitrite hit 0.

[drparker]

People will argue either way. Since you don't have any live stock in there it really does not matter.

I'm one who does do water changes starting at 3 to 4 weeks into the cycle.

A water change might extend the cycle a little but not really that much. A 10% water change will not really effect it much.

Never to early to start good habits.

[faisal629]

thanks everyone, what do you guys think of my current test results, is the tank atleast half way done cycling?

[tkeracer619]

I would guess more then half.

[fpv930]

It would seem to me that you should be done with the cycle soon. It also seems that the fish you could not find has extended the cycle a bit. It probably took a while for the system to break down the dead fish.
Once the Ammonia and Nitrites are at zero and stable, the cycle is complete. I would do a water change after that.
I also agree with feeding the tank after the cycle has been completed.

[fpv930]

Double post. Sorry

[uncleof6]

thanks everyone, what do you guys think of my current test results, is the tank atleast half way done cycling?

Halfway, 1/4 way, 3/4 way, who knows. Watch your ammonia, if you can toss food in the tank, and the ammonia does not rise you are there, or rises, then falls quickly, under 12 hours, you are just about there. Would not worry about nitrites a great deal, nor nitrates at this point. You need to watch the ammonia, as that is what is harmful. Also be aware that many test kits will give false results for nitrate, when there is detectable nitrite present.