Cycle question

Simon68

New member
When do I do a water change, have done one so far, tank cycling about 4 weeks now.
Ammonia 0
Nitrites .25
Nitrates 10

I do a have a lot of livestock that came as amazing hitchhikers and throw ins on my TBS rock, so I want to do what's right by them also, but I don't want to prolong a cycle by doing water changes prematurely or too often. The highest the ammonia ever got was .5 and now it's solid 0.

Nitrites did get down to 0 also but with my second part of "the package" they have been where they are now.

So how often should I be doing water changes and how much to change?
Thanks, I love this site!!
 
My recommendation is not to do any water changes...as you do not have anything significant enough to produce the waste that water changes are used to dilute.
Let your tank cycle is my opinion for approx 2 - 3 months before adding anything at all. Not even a clean up crew.
It's boring looking at rock but it will pay off in the end.
Patience is a must in this hobby.
Good Luck
 
I am fine being patient, no problem waiting. With TBS rock I have TONS of life in there to look at.
 
At this point I would wait until you nitrites are un-dectable and the nitrates are near undetectable. Then I would use a Turkey-Baster and get the loose stuff off the liverock and do a good water change (maybe 30 to 50 percent). Give it a few more days and double check all your water parameters to see where you are at.
 
IMO once your ammonia and trites are 0 and your trates are below 20 then you can do a 20% water change and you are good to go. Like I said IMO.
 
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