All These Levels Mean What Now???

[Moses]

OK so I got hold of a freshwater master test kit for a good price and tested all my tanks and here are the results.

Established Tropical Tank 55gal (running for 4 months)
pH - 6.5 (would like this a little closer to 7)
Ammonia - .25
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 10
This tank is due for a 25% water change tomorrow. They are feed on frozen blood worms 1-2 times a day and flake once/day. Too much?

Malawi Cichlid Tank 55gal (cycling for 1 week)
pH - 8.0
Ammonia - .4
Nitrite - .5
Nitrate - 1
Tank has been cycling for 1 week with a mollie. I have used a filter sponge out of the tropical tank which seems to have helped.

Tanganyika Cichlid Tank 55gal (cycling for 1 week)
pH - 8.0
Ammonia - .1
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 2
Tank has been cycling for 1 week with a mollie. I have used a filter sponge out of the tropical tank which seems to have helped.

Quarantine Tank 30gal (established filter)
pH - 7.8
Ammonia - .1
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
This tank was a livebearer tank so the filter is already established with bacteria. It has been running for 1 week with a mollie and the levels seem to be really good. I added some pH up to get it up around 8.2.
Would this tank be alright to put 4 yellow labs for the Malawi tank until it has finished cycling at these levels?

So yeah these are my levels and I would just like to know if they are what I'm looking for?

Thanks for your input

[Puffer Pita]

You're looking for zero readings on ammonia and nitrites. Anything above that is harmful to the fish. In your 55, I would cut back the feedings. After four months, you shouldn't have any ammonia or nitrites. You can use Prime to detoxify the ammonia and nitrites so they won't harm the fish.

I would refrain from using pH Up or Down or any other chemical to adjust your pH. A specific pH is less important than a stable pH and the chemicals can and do cause big swings which can quickly kill the fish. There are better, safer ways of adjusting the pH such as using some crushed coral in the filter or as substrate.

[emc7]

Cycle your tanks first! Massive water changes during cycling are normal and a waste of buffer when you don't have your target fish in there yet.
Then adjust both your pH and hardness. If the hardness is too low, the pH won't be stable. Use cichlid chemistry or cichlid salts to get the hardness to the target level, crushed coral as a substrate also helps. Then use Malawi or Tanginikan buffer to get the pH in range. Don't go nuts trying to fine tune it. 6-8 is fine for most tropicals, 7.5-9 for malawi and anything over 8 for tanginika. pH UP is a waste of time unless you want to test pH twice a day.