African Cichlid tank and levels questions

Ok thanks again everybody. As always it's really appreciated. Hopefully, with me already doing the 90% change another change of that amount won't be necessary. I will keep checking levels daily and keep you guys informed. I am hoping to get a gh/kh test kit this evening.
 
Let me ask everyone something else. Is it absolutely necessary with a cichlid tank to introduce all of them into the tank at the same time?

It is not absolutely necessary, but it is the most appropriate way to do it. If for any reason you can't add all the cichlids at once, then you should add the least aggressive species first and finish the process adding the most aggressive species as the last one. But don't wait too much to add the next group of fishes and complete the whole process ASAP.
About your tank's cycle, it is normal that after the ammonia comes down to zero, the nitrites go up and stay there for a while; so, be patient and you can use a bacterial additive to help the cycle to speed up a little bit.
 
It is not absolutely necessary, but it is the most appropriate way to do it. If for any reason you can't add all the cichlids at once, then you should add the least aggressive species first and finish the process adding the most aggressive species as the last one. But don't wait too much to add the next group of fishes and complete the whole process ASAP.
About your tank's cycle, it is normal that after the ammonia comes down to zero, the nitrites go up and stay there for a while; so, be patient and you can use a bacterial additive to help the cycle to speed up a little bit.

What's a good source for that? Raw salmon?
 
They are within the acceptable range (just below 20ppm), but they aren't going up.

If your nitrite is still going up, chances are it hasn't spiked yet. Your nitrate should shoot up more as the nitrite builds and peaks. When I did my 1st tank, the nitrate was at 160ppm when it completed. There is supposedly a formula that tells Xppm of ammonia=Xppm nitrite=Xppm of nitrate. Alot depends on how much ammonia you are dosing daily.
 
If your nitrite is still going up, chances are it hasn't spiked yet. Your nitrate should shoot up more as the nitrite builds and peaks. When I did my 1st tank, the nitrate was at 160ppm when it completed. There is supposedly a formula that tells Xppm of ammonia=Xppm nitrite=Xppm of nitrate. Alot depends on how much ammonia you are dosing daily.

Ok thanks for the info. :)
 
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