Year old tank has nitrate spike

[Rnbwfimmy]

So my 55 has been well established for a year now, I hardly ever have issues other then a little bit of hair algae and some platys that have become lumpy looking over the past few months (I've been all over the Internet and chalked it up to age and crappy breeding, but if you know anything about it please let me know). My levels are always great, I do weekly 30 percent water changes. This week I decided it had been too long since I had cleaned the gravel, so I did that and a 50 percent water change, as well as rescaped the tank which turned over a lot of old waste. Later in the day my levels spiked to Nitrite: .5 ppm Nitrate: 10 ppm (no ammonia). The fish seem fine, but I just want to double check that they aren't in immediate danger, and that this is just due to the large water change and upheaval of debris. Am I correct?

 

[Rivercats]

It's from the gravel cleaning, yes. You might even have a little bacterial bloom if it causes a mini cycle. Honestly I'd do another WC to bring and keep the nitrite level to .25ppm or lower.

 

[Rnbwfimmy]

Thanks that's what I needed to know, I'm going to take a look at it again tomorrow and do another water change if I need to. The fish seem to be fine for now