ANOTHER cycling question

[knuckles23]

SO first off. This is my first post. Under poor advice from the LFS ( had the water tested and they said I was ready for a couple fish, NOT the case when i dropped them and went to another store) Heres the issue: 30g LS, 2 clowns, and 1 watchman goby. Testing the water every other day: latest test Ammonia-0 Nitrate-40 Nitrite-.75 PH-8.2 When do these levels come to 0? how long does it take? I know NOW about the cycling process, but was told by the LFS that my tank was set, or I would have never done this yet. I did a water change about 5 days ago (30%) and the levels seem to be dropping SLOWLY. is this right? any advice will be greatly appreciated!

 

[ryshark]

Your cycle is not complete until your ammonia and nitrite have both bottomed out at 0, at this time you will register nitrate and your tank is cycled. This typically takes anywhere from 3 to 6-weeks. In order to keep your fish alive you need to be doing daily partial water changes until your cycle can catch up. 3-fish to add at once in a new 30gallon is a lot. Also look into Amquel+ this will help to nuetralize the toxins your fish are living in, but the main thing is daily partial water changes around 25% and make sure you match the temperature, salinity and PH. The reason you Nitrite is slowly dropping is because your tank is slowly becoming more cycled by establishing more beneficial bacteria.
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