Here we go again with the tank problems... lol

OK, I have a 10 gallon tank that has been set up for about 3 weeks. I have three wisteria plants, an argentine sword, and a crested java fern. Currently there are two platies.

I've been monitoring the chemistry levels religiously, and the ammonia began to rise pretty quickly. It hit .25 about a week ago, then began to decline as the nitrites began to rise. I had read that the cycle would fluctuate less because of the plants, so I thought this was a good thing...

It's been a week, and the nitrites are still high. The nitrates rose a little, but it's mainly the nitrites that are up there. There hasn't been any ammonia in the tank for a while. I've been doing several water changes in a week to try to lower the levels, but I don't want to lower them too much because that will throw off the cycle.

What's going on in my tank? Is this a bad thing? Is there something I've done to make this happen, and should I fix it? Will the levels even out soon if I just keep changing the water and hoping for the best?

Should I add bacteria from my betta's tank? I didn't want to because it had had an outbreak of ich, but it should be safe now. Would it be a good idea to add some gravel anyway?

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

In cycling Ammonia rises first, then Nitrites, then Nitrates. It's quite normal for Nitrites to be high in the middle of cycling. After a few weeks (3-4) your Nitrites will be near zero and cycling will be complete. Then remove accumulated Nitrates with water changes. Nitrites are not as dangerous a Ammonia but are still a little toxic. Don't have sensative or expensive fish in your tank during cycling.

Sounds normal. Do you have fish in this tank and how high is the nitrite level? Nitrites can be just as toxic as ammonia, if not worse. Even low levels can kill. If you have fish in the tank, do a water change. If it is above 3ppm or so, do about 50%.

There are two platies in there right now, and the nitrite was around 3.0. I'll keep up with the changes and see how it goes. Thanks, guys! :D

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.

Good plan. Water changes will slightly slow the completion of the cycle, but at least your fish will be alive.

Well, that was fast! I did another 10% water change the other day, and yesterday the nitrites were way down. Today everything is at 0, including nitrates. I guess it's cycled already! That was a whole lot faster than my 5 gallon, which took about a month and a half to cycle. Maybe it's all the live plants?

Thanks again for the advice, guys! :D

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Creatures great and small, I love 'em all! But mainly the fish.