Nitrite Strike And Ammonia Strike

[Michelle4474]

Hello Everyone,
I was just wondering how the cycling worked. Last week my nitrite was 0.3 which is a little higher than normal. And today when I did water test my ammonia was 0.25 which is slightly higher but my nitrite is perfect. I was just wondering because I've had my two strikes (nitrite and ammonia) does that mean my tank is cycled? I know that my water is really really soft. So I have to correct this. My other question is that I have fish in a 20 gal tank that I want to move over to my 75 gal tank do you think once the ammonia goes down it would be ok to move them over? Is it still ok that my water is really soft?

Thanks
Michelle

 

[Tempestuousfury]

A fully cycled tank would be one that has no ammonia or nitrites, so until those go down to zero, your tank is not fully cycled.

As for putting fish in, even if you have no ammonia, as long as you have nitrites (which are also quite toxic), I would suggest you hold off on that.

As for the soft water, I would highly suggest that you not tamper with the softness. Look for a fish that would do well witht he softness that you have.

What's your pH, by the way? I ask, since low pH and soft water would work well with a South American biotope, and should work well with plants, too.