10 Gallon Tank Fish in cycle with nitrifying bacteria

Hi guys, so I’m currently doing a fish-in cycle with 3 platys in my 10g tank. This tank been running for 2 weeks now and I got the fish about 5 days ago, I been treating the water with seachem prime everyday and I been testing the water too. I started to see ammonia in the tank the day I got the fish and I had 1.0ppm ammonia, 0.25 ppm nitrite and 20ppm nitrates. On October 8th I received a product called Fritz turbo start 700 (Bottle nitrifying bacteria) and I added the whole 1oz bottle to the tank, I tested the water the next day and I had 1.0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrites and 20ppm nitrates. I tested the water today and I have 1ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and 10ppm nitrate. Can anyone explain why the nitrites disappeared, because if I have nitrates I suppose to have nitrite because nitrites convert into nitrates right. Any help or advise is appreciated thank you!

 

IMO you are wasting your time with Prime and Fritz to help it cycle. Sense you have ammonia I would get some filter brown "slime" from someone like a fish shop to kick start it with fish in there.
Having ammonia and nitrates at day one makes no sense unless the water they were in had ammonia and you poured it in? Also your tap water could have nitrates. You could test it to find out.
Anyway, I would not expect to see nitrates from your cycle for at least 4 weeks without seeding from another aquarium.
How good bacteria that requires oxygen can live in a bottle I have no idea (Fritz). I don't think it can.

 

Hi guys, so I’m currently doing a fish-in cycle with 3 platys in my 10g tank. This tank been running for 2 weeks now and I got the fish about 5 days ago, I been treating the water with seachem prime everyday and I been testing the water too. I started to see ammonia in the tank the day I got the fish and I had 1.0ppm ammonia, 0.25 ppm nitrite and 20ppm nitrates. On October 8th I received a product called Fritz turbo start 700 (Bottle nitrifying bacteria) and I added the whole 1oz bottle to the tank, I tested the water the next day and I had 1.0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrites and 20ppm nitrates. I tested the water today and I have 1ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite and 10ppm nitrate. Can anyone explain why the nitrites disappeared, because if I have nitrates I suppose to have nitrite because nitrites convert into nitrates right. Any help or advise is appreciated thank you!

I am surprised you are seeing 1ppm ammonia consistently, whether it was when you have fish or when you dosed Fritz or otherwise. Are you sure you are measuring it correctly? Honestly if just adding fish increased ammonia to 1ppm, I'd have expected more, even prior to dosing the bacteria. Not to mention after dosing Fritz and seeing no change in ammonia. Fritz is probably the only bottled bac product I'd say work far more often than not. When you received the bottle, was it in a cold pack? It is supposed to be kept cold and refrigerated the moment it can be.

What is your pH by the way?

And you may still indeed be having nitrite produced, just not reading nitrite if nitrite is immediately oxidized to nitrate as it is produced. But then your nitrate readings are also very weird.

Long story short, honestly your readings are very, very odd. Do you have any plants or algae growing by chance?

 

Test your tap water for ammonia and nitrate.

You said the tank was running for over a week before you added the fish. Did you add anything during that time to start the cycling process?? Ammonia? Fish food?

Until you figure it out, you should do water changes to keep the ammonia to about .25 to protect your fish. Test daily and do water changes as needed based on test results.

 

Yes have you done any water changes? Are you dosing prime after water changes? To cycle a fish in tank you need to change water daily. For a 10 do 5g daily. What type of test kit are you using? Strips or the liquid? As stated test your tap water too.