New tank running for a few days, ?s about cycling

Question
I have recently set up my first tank and have tried to get as much info from the different fish stones and online (your questions have helped, but you have so many to look through! haha).  It is a 55 ga. tank with two filters (the kind that pour water in from the top and don't creates bubbles in the tank), fake plants.  I rand the tank for 3 days in which the water cleared up considerably.  I then went out and bought 15 tetras.  About 24 hours after I put them in I did my first water test. and then again 24 hours later.  i'll type my results below:

1st test 6/19
Ammonia 1.0 ppm
nitrate around 10 ppm
Ph 7.4 or 7.6
nitrite 2ppm

2nd tes 6/20
ammonia >.5 ppm
nitrate 10 ppm
Ph 7.6
nitrite 2 or >

I used a test kit where I take 5 ml of water and put a couple of drops of different solutions to each tube.

My first question is how are those numbers?  I think the Ph is a little high, but should be ok?
Second, IF those numbers are looking OK do I still need to do the clycling of water for the first 4-6 weeks that i'm reading about?  and if so what is your suggestion for when to do that cycling and how much water to cycle.
I think that is all I have for now, thanks for your help, me and my fish greatly appreaciate your time.

-Logan

Actually I did find one more quesiton, I'm in Arizona and I can't find an easy way to get the temperature BELOW 80-82.  any suggestions, or can I just live with that.

Answer
Dear Logan, welcome to this wonderful hobby!

Wow, it sounds like your 55 gal aquarium is cycling fast! Ammonia can drop and rise just depending upon your individual aquarium. Not every aquarium cycles the same.
What I would do is continue testing everyday like you are doing nicely already and when you finally notice your ammonia and nitrite are consistantly ZERO and nitrate is moderate it is safe for a few more fish. But please do not add anymore aquatic life until you get consistant ZERO readings of ammonia and nitrite. Only then is it truly safe to slowly add a few fish per week. You'll need to give your bacteria time to adjust to each new bioload and ideally, try to test after each new arrival to moniter for any ammonia spikes which sometimes can happen. Should you get one you'll have to pull out your patience again and wait for this "mini-cycle" to finish before adding anymore fish or aquatic life.

{Your pH is just fine where it's at. Adjusting your pH like some aquarists may tell you do is truthfully too risky for the health of your fish. This is because if your pH is too high, most people will add an acidic pH lowering chemical, but this only works for a very short time. Because high pH also has high buffering capacity (which keeps your pH from going through drastic drops) these buffers will only absorb all the acid you continue to add until your buffering capacity (KH) cannot absorb anymore. But during this pH drops and rises in a rollercoaster and you always end up with some very stressed fish. It's fortunate that the huge majority of captive raised fish are well-adapted to pH out of their normal preferred range and as long as their aquarium water gets plenty of water changes, that is all they will ever need.}

*I also live in a VERY hot area. Around here, my aquariums stay a consistant 80'sF or more (without heaters). It does not seem to affect my fish and they thrive, show brilliant colors, and even spawn. Of course wintertime requires some heating.

I really hope this helps and hope I haven't missed anything!

Best wishes and Best of luck with your new Aquarium!
Karen~
(Here's a EXCELLENT website I know of that will help you with your new hobby... please visit-
"www.fishtanksandponds.com")