Cycling Tnak With Platys

[Fishhub]

I did a tank cleaning on my 10 gallon tank, I bleached the filter intake and plastic plants and rinsed thouroghly. I also changed 50% of the water and the filter cartrige. My 5 platys were sick and dying and it finnaly came to me that i messed up the fish cycle. It's been 2 weeks since That big clean. I took a strp to test the water today and found my nitrates were 30. I dont know the ammoinia. So what phase i'm I in? What do I do next to fix the water cycle?

 

[robryb]

I did a tank cleaning on my 10 gallon tank, I bleached the filter intake and plastic plants and rinsed thouroghly. I also changed 50% of the water and the filter cartrige. My 5 platys were sick and dying and it finnaly came to me that i messed up the fish cycle. It's been 2 weeks since That big clean. I took a strp to test the water today and found my nitrates were 30. I dont know the ammoinia. So what phase i'm I in? What do I do next to fix the water cycle?

Hard to say if those nitrates were left over from the previous water. You really need to test the water to see where your ammonia/nitrites are. Maybe take a water sample to a pet shop and ask them to test it for you...

Not much you can do. If the water cycle is broken, it will need to restart from scratch again to build up the bacteria again.

 

[Curiosity101]

I reckon you are at the very beginning of your water cycle. The nitrates (as robryb said) may well be left over from the tank when it was cycled. Definitely get your water checked at the pet shop ASAP.
Bad water causes illnesses, so certainly wont help any fish that are currently ill.

 

[holidayinn]

It does sound as though the cycle has had to start from scratch, the only way of knowing it to use a test kit. For future reference, I only really clean the filters if there is a drop in flow rate, and clean the sponges in tank water.

 

[Fishhub]

Well I decided i'm doing a 10-15% water change per day along with testing the water until the cycle completes. Curently for Nitrites is 1. I'm only changing the cartrige if the filter is very clogged until the water is safe, and next time I should never bleach the filter intake and instead wash off the alage with a scrubber in tank water. Does that sound like a plan. Also Is it really too late to save the fish, should i discard them if thats the case?