Are these high levels normal in new tanks?

[SharpieItBlack]

I just upgraded my goldfish from a 10 gallon to a 29 gallon. It's just one goldfish.
My ph is completely normal, ammonia is .25ppm, nitrIte is 3ppm and the nitrAte is about 6ppm.
Which in the 10 gallon after just one week all of them were off the charts. Anyway...
After this one week after upgrading, is it normal to have those
"High" readings, and will they go down on their own? Or should I do a water change tomorrow afternoon (can't today, have a paper dur Monday for class)
Or wait one more week and test again then do the water change?

 

[librarygirl]

The tank isn't cycled yet, so for an uncycled tank you'll see ammonia and nitrite until the tank cycles. With fish in there, you want to keep ammonia and nitrite <.25. Nitrite at 3 is pretty toxic, so I'd do a 50% water change (with dechlorinator), wait a couple of hours, then do another. Tomorrow test again and do water changes accordingly. Here's a couple of links if you haven't seen them:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

 

[SharpieItBlack]

The tank isn't cycled yet, so for an uncycled tank you'll see ammonia and nitrite until the tank cycles. With fish in there, you want to keep ammonia and nitrite <.25. Nitrite at 3 is pretty toxic, so I'd do a 50% water change (with dechlorinator), wait a couple of hours, then do another. Tomorrow test again and do water changes accordingly. Here's a couple of links if you haven't seen them:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

Usually my nitrite and ammonia are 0ppm. So those readings were a little shocking! And as for nitrates, I read an ideal level is 5-10ppm, is that correct? Or as long as it's below 30. However the lowest I've ever been able to keep it was 25ppm in my old 10gallon.

 

[SharpieItBlack]

The tank isn't cycled yet, so for an uncycled tank you'll see ammonia and nitrite until the tank cycles. With fish in there, you want to keep ammonia and nitrite <.25. Nitrite at 3 is pretty toxic, so I'd do a 50% water change (with dechlorinator), wait a couple of hours, then do another. Tomorrow test again and do water changes accordingly. Here's a couple of links if you haven't seen them:
I just learned about cycling but I already have fish. What now?! - Aquarium Advice
Guide to Starting a Freshwater Aquarium - Aquarium Advice

So I read the second link, helped me with understanding levels. I have tons of time tomorrow after Church, so I'll do my water changes then (I'm a lame college student and do all my homework on Saturday )
It told me that nitrite/ammonia together should be less than .25ppm.
With my 10 gallon I had to do water changes each week to keep up with the "overcrowding" and the tank being too small for just one fish.

--*But with my 29 gallon, once more established, will I be able to change it less often? I gladly do it once a week, but sometimes get behind because of a project here or there for a class (or being too sick).*--

I already know I'll do whatever it takes to make my Jack happy! His fin rot has GREATLY improved since the upgrade, and he seems happier and swimming around more exploring too. Might have cost me well over $100 to upgrade but totally worth it in the long run

 

[librarygirl]

So for the 10 gal you had 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites? Did you move the filter media or the filter itself over from the 10 gal to the new tank? Nitrates will depend on the bioload of the fish and the size tank and other things like feeding (and whether your tap water has nitrates). Ideal nitrates are under 10, but it's hard to achieve that sometimes. Under 20 is acceptable, some say even under 40 is too; it depends on the fish too, some are more sensitive to nitrates than others.

 

[librarygirl]

So I read the second link, helped me with understanding levels. I have tons of time tomorrow after Church, so I'll do my water changes then (I'm a lame college student and do all my homework on Saturday )
It told me that nitrite/ammonia together should be less than .25ppm.
With my 10 gallon I had to do water changes each week to keep up with the "overcrowding" and the tank being too small for just one fish.

--*But with my 29 gallon, once more established, will I be able to change it less often? I gladly do it once a week, but sometimes get behind because of a project here or there for a class (or being too sick).*--

I already know I'll do whatever it takes to make my Jack happy! His fin rot has GREATLY improved since the upgrade, and he seems happier and swimming around more exploring too. Might have cost me well over $100 to upgrade but totally worth it in the long run

Yep, once the new tank is cycled (ammonia and nitrite staying at 0 on their own without water changes) then you can move to a weekly regimine. Most say 50% weekly is good maintenance. Goldfish are pretty messy though so some even do 2 weekly water changes with substrate vacuum. It'll also largely depend on how high your nitrates get at the end of the week once the tank cycles. Good job on upgrading the tank for your fish, by the way.

 

[SharpieItBlack]

Ok, yeah tomorrow I'll plan on doing a 50% change in the early afternoon, then in the evening/nighttime test the water. If no change then test again on Monday.
I knew about how Goldfish are usually messier. I also started feeding less, that has helped a lot as well, so there isn't decaying food everywhere.
And I do gravel vacs as well, and clean the decor (with just regular water) when needed if it looks gross.
But thank you!