what my Water Tests mean....

Question
Hello Karen,
I pray God is watching over you and your Family..
as for me, I'm doing well, Thank You
Now, Do you remember me telling you my water tests were always the same, Ammonia 0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate oppm, and pH 7.4? and you had told me that it was because my tank was Still in the beginning stages of CYCLING, that eventually, very SOON my AMMONIA, NITRITE was going to GO UP and then drop back down to 0ppm again? (that's when my tank will be CYCLED!)

well.. It's started, and it has nothing to do with crystal clear water, because for a awhile now my tank is soooo clear you could see California from NYC!
This morning my AMMONIA is 2.0, Ntrite 5.0, Nitrate 5.0 anf pH still 7.4..So So, during this the part, doI continue to do my 30-50% water changes everyother day or what?  I need your professional guidance, because when I see my numbers spike like that, I get nervous...

I hope to hear from you VERY< VERY SOON!!!!

                        Thank You, TONY L

Answer
Hi Tony, thank you, I am just fine as well. ;-)

I figured it would take time for your ammonia and nitrite readings to rise. This is just part of the cycling process. Yes, even the clearest of water doesn't guarantee actually good water quality.

Okay, so your ammonia is 2.0ppm, nitrite 5.0ppm and nitrate 5.0ppm. Your pH is fine. Whats great is you haven't had a severe ammonia spike. But any trace of ammonia can be harmful to your beloved fish. I tend to do a 30-50% (as you know) change whenever ammonia is traceable. Testing about an hour after a water change also helps to moniter just how effective the water change was on the ammonia levels. Hopefully you'll never get a spike of ammonia, just a gradual rise and gradual fall. For now, water changes and patience are your best bets for sucess. Continue testing every morning and sometimes after a water change. Within several more weeks, your levels will rise and fall just depending on your individual situation.
Always keep feeding very minimal as you probably know.

Try not to worry too much. I don't know about me being "Professional" -thank you, but... ;-) We are ALL still learning.

Best wishes and I hope this helps!
Karen~