Water Change Question

[morourke]

My tank is still cycling and I've just starting to get brown algae on my sand bed and on my LR. My nitrites are at 5 and have been for over a week now. My nitrates are over 140. The 140 on my test kit is a dark red and my test is showing up much darker than the highest level so I'm going to say they're REALLY high. I was told not to do any water changes until my cycle finishes but I think that I should because my levels are so out of wack. Any advice here?

 

[birdy]

your levels are not out of wack that is exactly what they should be during the cycle, there is no reason to do a water change.

 

[saltym3]

brown algae is a good sign. water changes most likely will make the cycle last longer.