problems with cycling my 10 gallon?

[allaboutfish]

ok so it's been like 3 weeks and i've seen ammonia nitrites and nitrates but since i added a plant everything is 0. whats up with my tank this is a fish in cycle.

 

[CaptainMako]

I'm right in the middle of my fish-in cycle, so I wouldn't know any more than you. Imo I don't think the plant would effect the bacteria necessarily, but I don't know. Maybe there was enough "clean" properties on the plant and since you added it, it did something to the bacteria. I don't know what I'm talking about.
I wish you the best though!

 

[allaboutfish]

haha you too it's just so freakin weird!!

 

[CaptainMako]

You'll get it, no worries. Somebody with more knowledge than me will get back to you.

 

[siva]

What plant?

ammo, nitrite and nitrate are 0? What is the ph? Did it change from what it was previously?

 

[allaboutfish]

a melon sword i believe. and yea nitrites and nitrates were spiking and now nothing at all. the plant looked close to dead when i put it in and now it's flourishing growing a new leave a night.

 

[siva]

Hmm well that doesn't make any sense. The ph?

 

[allaboutfish]

7.4 last time i checked

 

[TraceyB4602]

Plants help control nitrates in the water. I know that much but i don't know if one plant could do it. Maybe we need a plant expert in here?

 

[allaboutfish]

i need a cycling expert!!

 

[mommytron]

how often are you changing the water? have you changed it at all since all levels read 0? it's not a bad thing that all levels are at 0ppm. since you have fish in there, that's what you want to see. nitrate could be being used up by the plant.

 

[allaboutfish]

nope i havent changed it since it was 0 bc it didnt seem like i needed to

 

[eco23]

You'll lose some level of nitrAtes from plants as well as late stages of the nitrogen cycle, but dropping to 0 that quickly seems unreasonable to me. Are you 100% certain you're doing the nitrAte test right? API kit? 99% of people mess up the nitrAte test because they don't shake the #2 solution for a full 30 seconds, then shake the entire solution for a solid minute.

 

[mommytron]

well if your ammo isn't rising at all (or nitrites) i would say your tank is cycled... if it weren't cycled, there would be some sort of a reading for ammo or nitrites. seeing as you have fish and all

 

[eco23]

well if you're ammo isn't rising at all (or nitrites) i would say your tank is cycled... if it weren't cycled, there would be some sort of a reading for ammo or nitrites. seeing as you have fish and all

Agreed, especially if you've been using the same kit and it is now showing 0's. The nitrAte however is not one of the values that instantly drop to 0 at the end of a cycle like the ammo and no2 do. I'd double check the testing method first.

 

[TraceyB4602]

Ok then please tell me what your parameters were before you added a plant. NH3, N02, N03, and PH. How many fish do you have if any and have you done anything else like water changes or chemical treatments?

 

[siva]

Yes I have never seen nitrates at 0 from one plant. What size is the tank and what fish are in it? And the pH, did it change when everything else did?

 

[allaboutfish]

ok so inhabitants(10 gallon)-
1-male betta,
3-juli corys(going to a 29 once it gets setup and cycled),
1-chinese algae eater(gonna find it a home)
levels b4 i noticed the drop (next day) ammo-0, nitrites-off the charts, nitrates- 5.0
the ph from tap is around 7.6 last time i checked it.

 

[allaboutfish]

oh and i do the nitrate test right bc someone else told me that i was doing it wrong b4 so now i do it right with a stopwatch. i did add one chemical melafix for ammonia burns but that's it.

 

[Mr. Limpet]

a melon sword i believe. and yea nitrites and nitrates were spiking and now nothing at all. the plant looked close to dead when i put it in and now it's flourishing growing a new leave a night.

IMO you're cycled. 10g is pretty small, so between the plant (high growth rate), nutrifying bacteria and the questionable brown scale of the n03 test, chances are its not absolute 0, but maybe 5 -7ppm which sounds right to me.