Cycling my freshwater tank

[xxbreyxx]

Hello all, just a few questions to ask if yous dont mind, ive had my tank setup for a few weeks now and have been doing about 15% water chance everyday as the ammonia was going upto 0.50ppm, now its down to 0. Now i have nitrite in it and it seems to be at 0.50 to 1.0 ppm i think and i think the nitrate is hitting 5.0ppm. What am i mean to do now to get them down or is this normal and will go down by its self, or should i keep doing water chances everyday? Sorry if i seem stuiped but its better to ask for help i guess than sit and do notting as ive a few fish and shrimp in my tank

Thank You
Brendan

 

[jvai]

its bitter sweet news, the nitrate means that your beneficial bacteria had been established and has converted your ammonia to nitrate, bad news is that you have to get the nitrate out, keep up with the water changes, it will eventually even out.

 

[xxbreyxx]

Thank you very much for the advise and hopefully all goes well

Thanks
Brendan

 

[Spiritofthesoul]

Just wait for the nitrite to hit zero and you are good to go

 

[bdwilson]

I cheat, I use filter media from an existing tank and never worry about cycling. If you don't have an existing tank, I've found Stability by Sea Chem works very well.