2 clear days - Do I WC?

[Jeff]

Well thats 2 clear days but do I water change?

Ammonia .25ppm (but thats the same as the tap water, so I am a bit stuck there)
Nitrite = 0ppm
Nitrate = 5ppm
I havent done a WC for around 5 days.

I was also adding Stability due to adding those bacteria growing balls. So have I got a skewed result on my Nitrites as well?

Its a bloody minefield this fish keeping lark, or is it just me.

[mikeyw64]

the normal advice is 3 days of double zeroes (if feeding ammonia).

Yes the general advice is water change but that's only really required if your nitrates are high. At 5ppm I personally wouldn't bother.

During the cycle on Sunnyside the Nitrates were off the scale for the majority of the 22(+3) days it took to cycle but then plummeted to 0 at the end (and no I didn't water change).

[Stephen]

Do a large water change after 3 days of zeros if you intend to buy fish then.
If not keep feeding the ammonia to 2ppm until you are ready to add fish, then do a large water change.

All the best

[Jeff]

Cheers, so fingers crossed for this evening. I didnt add any Stability yesterday,so we shall see what we get this week, if all clear then wc sat morn and then a trip to shop maybe.

[Stephen]

Cheers, so fingers crossed for this evening. I didnt add any Stability yesterday,so we shall see what we get this week, if all clear then wc sat morn and then a trip to shop maybe.

Sounds like a plan Jeff

[plankton]

You still need the water change as the cycle will remove trace ingredients, which are needed to sustain stable parameters - it's not just about the nitrates.

[Jeff]

As I had 3 days of Zero's I added 5 Neon tetras on Saturday I havent added any Stability and I am pleased to say that I am still reading zero's. My only issue is that my Nitrates are zero as well but algae is starting to grow, nothing seriuos, just thought I wouldnt have any algae issues.

So what type of fish is good at keeping algae at bay, remembering my water is hard

[Gingerlove05]

You will likely get some algae as the tank settles and matures. Different algaes can take advantage of different situations.
How long are your lights on for?
Its better to deal with/find the source of the issue rather than adding fish or livestock (or chemicals) to deal with it short term

[Jeff]

I have the lights on for 8 hours a day in 2 4 hour stints, as I have been told that the algae doesnt grow if the light cycle is interrupted, and to be fair the tank has only been going for a month, so patience is the virtue. Mind you patience is not exactly my best mate

[Gingerlove05]

What sort of algae is it? Diatoms (brown algae) is common in new setups and disappears almost as quickly as it appears.
As its a new setup reduce the lighting to 6 hours, you can increase it gradually when things settle down. In the back of my mind from some reading (I believe it was on plants) algae starts to photosynthesise after 4hours of light.
And patience is key in this hobby