Cycling Products And Readings

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dazbud

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After making bad mistakes on the guidance of the LFS, I now have a 100L tank with fish-in cycle with a bit too much stock for its age.

5 weeks in and amonia being steady at around 0.25ppm. weekly 10% water change. No nitrites or Nitrates.
Then fish started dying in week 6, and the amonia started to rise to about 1ppm

Following advice on here, I increased the water change regime, and have been changing up to 30% daily depending on the ammonia reading, using Tetra Aquasafe declorinator.
I've also stopped vacuuming the gravel, and now just lightly skimming over it when syphoning.
I've been dosing the tank every two days with Seachem Prime to detoxify the Amonia but still leave it available for the bacteria.
Also started a course of Seachem Stability 8 days ago. Throughout the 8 days, the amonia got as high as 2ppm
Although throughout the course, still no readings for nitrite or nitrate.
Yesterday, I had a reading of 1ppm for nitrite after the last dose had been done the day before.
I'd used all the Stability up, so had bought in some Tetra Safestart to begin using after the Seachem Stability.
I did a 30% water change last night.
I dosed the tank with Safestart last night, and Prime. Today, amonia is 0.5ppm. The nitrite has disppeared totally and still no reading for nitrate.

Is it normal for Nitrite to go from zero to 1ppm in 100L over 12 hours and then to totally disappear within the next 12 hours?
Also, surely, i couldn't have removed all the nitrite in the 30% water change. If not, then where has it gone and why no reading for Nitrate?
Are these products actually disposing of nitrite/amonia and just not turning it into nitrate?


PS: I know the teskit is correct because I have nother smaller cold water tank that has fully cycled in the same period and I've been checking that one daily with the same kit and seen the full range of results.
 

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