Cycling Question

[Bennlfer]

My friend is currently cycling his 45 gallon tank. He added 6 goldfish to it and the ammonia and nitrite went through the roof. Ammonia was around 8 or 10 and the nitrite was around 5. Nitrates were low, about 10. He then added a bottle of Tetra Safe Start and tested it again the next night and the readings were: Ammonia .5 Nitrite: 5 Nitrate >100. The readings now, 2 days after that, are: Ammonia 0 Nitrite 3 or 4 Nitrate 15.

I am confused why his nitrites are so high and his nitrates are so low. Shouldnt the Safe Start have handled the nitrite as well as the ammonia? And isnt doing water changes the only way to remove nitrates? How did his nitrates come down so fast? Thanks for your help.

 

[bob965]

Regarding the nitrites, I would just give it more time. Your biofilter is still growing to accomodate the level of nitrite in your tank, and I would suspect it just hasn't caught up yet.

As for the nitrate, I would suspect operator error in performing the test. I had the same problem when I was cycling a tank, and I was positive I did it correctly and my nitrates seemed to go down. Sometimes it's just hard to get a consistent result with the nitrate test.