Temporary Bio-Balls?

[zenway9]

i am getting a nitrite reading of .5 and a nitrate reading of 10 ppm in my 12 gallon dx nano cube. i had thought that my tank had cycled due to 0's across the board, but now i am puzzled. i did a 3 gallon water change yesterday with RO and i am still getting these readings...will bio-balls in the back for a temporary time help this?

 

[jacksdad]

IMO no. Bio balls tend to be nitrate factories, if anything they would raise nitrate levels. How long has your tank been cycling? It is possible that the readings you are getting are the spike. Keep an eye on them for a few days and see what happens.
Bob

 

[zenway9]

all the levels spiked and came down to zero already...the tank cycled. i am just confused about these levels...i will wait a few days and see what happens. i bought some nice size snails and they won't come out of their shell, so i transferred them into my other larger tank and now they are fine.