It's been a week since initial set-up and I've added 3 decent sized shrimps to the filter and 3 directly to my 92g tank. I added the shrimp yesterday as I wasn't getting the ammonia spike I was looking for and noticed I went from .5ppm to 2ppm overnight. I also had my first nitrite reading at .25 ppm. All good signs I know.
The problem us, my Nitrate readings were already high before I added the shrimp and are now testing at 20ppm.
I'm guessing by the time my ammonia breakdowns into nitrites then nitrites to nitrates, my nitrate levels may be too high to add fish.
Should I perform small water changes weekly to keep nitrate levels under control until the cycle catches up or wait until ammonia and nitrite show zero and do a larger water change (50%) at the end of the cycle? Which would help preserve the bacteria I'm trying to achieve the most?
The problem us, my Nitrate readings were already high before I added the shrimp and are now testing at 20ppm.
I'm guessing by the time my ammonia breakdowns into nitrites then nitrites to nitrates, my nitrate levels may be too high to add fish.
Should I perform small water changes weekly to keep nitrate levels under control until the cycle catches up or wait until ammonia and nitrite show zero and do a larger water change (50%) at the end of the cycle? Which would help preserve the bacteria I'm trying to achieve the most?
