Can someone please help me out

[Tyy9k]

Can someone help me figure this out, cycling a new tank, tested water had ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates. So I’m thinking good progress, then I test my tap for nitrites and it’s the same deep purple color as my tank so I’m confused then I test my 5G guppy tank for nitrites and it’s 0 I’m so confused. Left tube is 5g tank and other tube is tap

 

[WhistlingBadger]

Hey there. Looks like you have a disturbing amount of nitrites in your tapwater. Your guppy tank is probably cycled and the bacteria are removing the nitrites from there.

 

[Ch4rlie]

Slightly confusing, but going to try and work it out here.

You have 2 tanks, a 5 gallon with guppies in it and if there is zero nitrite then this may mean this tank is cycled already?
How did you cycle this tank and how long has it been up and running?

And you now have a new tank that you are currently cycling and it’s showing something like 0.5 - 1ppm of nitrite from your photo (photos are notoriously hard to make a accurate colour match btw) and looks like your nitrfying bacteria are colonising at the moment?

 

[Tyy9k]

Slightly confusing, but going to try and work it out here.

You have 2 tanks, a 5 gallon with guppies in it and if there is zero nitrite then this may mean this tank is cycled already?
How did you cycle this tank and how long has it been up and running?

And you now have a new tank that you are currently cycling and it’s showing something like 0.5 - 1ppm of nitrite from your photo (photos are notoriously hard to make a accurate colour match btw) and looks like your nitrfying bacteria are colonising at the moment?

Yes the new tank is colonizing because it’s bringing down the ammonia quickly as it was a fair amount of ammonia a little over 4-5ppm when I started & the guppy tank has been up for about 4.5 months with 4 males inside, it was kind of a fish in cycle with them as I was uneducated at the time and I just kept up with water changes when it seemed needed and fed them and there has never been a problem

 

[Ch4rlie]

Makes sense now. Thanks.

For future tanks, you can use some of your established tanks filter media (just take a small amount and replace with new media) or a handful of substrate, even a plant or two as all these will have the bacterias you need on those already in established tanks and then simply put them into the new tank, gives you a head start in the cycle process, saves a lot of time!

 

[Ch4rlie]

As for your confusion of test results, I would be surprised if you have nitrite in your water supply.

Have you tested the tap water again just to double check and do ensure the instructions are followed to the letter and the test tubes and caps are clean.

Sounds obvious but you’d be surprised how many people make the mistake of not or forgetting to cleaning the test tubes.
Even have heard folks using their finger over end of test tube rather than the cap and that too can affect the results.

 

[Tyy9k]

Makes sense now. Thanks.

For future tanks, you can use some of your established tanks filter media (just take a small amount and replace with new media) or a handful of substrate, even a plant or two as all these will have the bacterias you need on those already in established tanks and then simply put them into the new tank, gives you a head start in the cycle process, saves a lot of time!

What about my tap water

 

[Myraan]

Sounds obvious but you’d be surprised how many people make the mistake of not or forgetting to cleaning the test tubes.
Even have heard folks using their finger over end of test tube rather than the cap and that too can affect the results.

One time I got exited about a genuine clear water zero nitrate reading.

I suspect I put the scoop of powder back in the pot it came from instead of the test phial....

 

[Ch4rlie]

What about my tap water

I’ve answered that with a query about your tap water on the post just before you asked this.