xoHoneyBunny

I just want to start off by saying that I appreciate all of you taking the time to help me out with this. I'm really trying to be successful and plan on doing more tanks in the future but I have to get the basics down and find what works for me. I really didn't think this post was going to go anywhere and I was just going to get rude comments about how I'm overdoing it and its never going to work but you all have been patient and offered constructive criticism which is greatly appreciated. As for the 10G I've done some more tests and am reading 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, and in between 5-10ppm nitrate I do indeed shake the living crap out of those bottles and test tubes for their amount of time stated and let them sit for 5 minutes. I actually got the API Stress Coat+ first and found stability and prime bundled on sale so I got both. I then heard FritzZyme 7 was a good product to use so I got some of that which is cheaper right now than stability but have not double dosed either or used the stability at all yet for that matter. I took some advice and am going to use the SeaChem Tidal 55 alongside ACC large coarse sponge filter. I did do ~35% water change yesterday and the readings above are from about an hour before this post goes up. I do have a large bubble wall I can throw into the new tank but I want to put it all together and see how it looks with the stuff I've picked out. I'm going as fast as I can to build this stand so I can get everything started. Thankfully I have learned my lesson and won't rush it this go around. The fish are also doing good from what I can see. None are acting strange and none have passed. I do have one concern, one of my guppy fry are half the size of the other 2. Its still eating and swimming normally. Could this be a runt?

I appreciate the info. I was actually thinking about the AquaClear but heard the same thing so I'll look into the Tidal filters for sure. As for sump, I haven't really considered it but have heard if you have the space and stay on top of maintenance its a good system for larger tanks. I don't know what else it could be honestly. I never had a problem before the frogbit or after taking it out, only while it was in there. I have sand but nothing like shells or anything of that nature, I was pretty careful picking stuff that shouldn't raise the pH since my water comes out of the tap perfect for most fish I would even think about keeping. As far as oxygen in the water I could see about getting some dissolved oxygen test solutions. Would 11 tiny platys be considered a huge difference in stock? I didn't think since they were still very young that they would produce that much waste for a spike. I do feed lightly and will definitely keep an eye out for an ammonia spike. I will continue to update when I do a test so there's more to go off of. I may be over reacting but I do want to make sure they are living their best life. I know it started bad but it doesn't mean it has to stay or end that way.

I don't have to worry about the guppies because both females died only 1 male remains + the 3 fry (a little over a week old). The platy are still too young to reproduce (about 3-4 months away from sexual maturity). I do understand the rushed bit. I was so excited and 3 days felt like 2 weeks when I found the fish I wanted so definitely a bad move on my part. The 37g is going to be a slow process since I don't want this to happen again and I could use some pointers as to what substrate, plants, and filtration I should use for that. Its a tall tank as well so I'm kind of lost about how to keep a low current kind of sweeping flow for mechanical filtration. The 37g is only for the platy, the snails and remaining gupps will be in the 10g.

I don't currently, no. I did have frogbit in there for about 20 ish hours and that's when my pH also went up which is, I assume, why two fish died because of the rapid spike and drop. Since then my Nitrate has been 0. It's only been a week+a day so maybe not enough time to tell? I've not had an ammonia spike at all and never a trace of Nitrite. My ammonia went down super fast as you can see so I didn't think much of it when adding my fish since it was only 3 gupps. It didn't change until the frogbit was introduced followed by a 25% water change.

July 19 - I bought - new fish tank (10g) sand (AquaNatural Sugar White) some fake plants heater (50W) sponge filter for 10g Aqueon QuietFlow 10 driftwood (Imagitarium) API Stress Coat+ SeaChem Prime + Stability FritzZyme 7 Beneficial Bacteria I knew about the nitrogen cycle and in previous years had always done a fish in cycle but wanted to do it a bit different after finding out Fritz had BB in a bottle. I conditioned my water and waited about 24 just to be safe before doing anything else. I added in the recommended 1/2 cup of FritzZyme 7 BB and a pinch of fish food (flake). After waiting for about 3 days and adding a small pinch of food every day, what I thought I was going to need to feed my fish. July 24 - I used a master freshwater testing kit to check my water. The tests read as follows: pH - 7.7 Ammonia - .50ppm Nitrite - 0 Nitrate - ~6ppm GH - 12°/214.8ppm KH - 6°/107.4ppm. I headed over to my local pet store (Petsmart) and picked out a male and two female fancy guppies just to start. They seemed to behave normally and I waited until the next morning to feed them. July 27 - I felt the need to test my water again. pH - 7.8 Ammonia - <.25ppm Nitrite - 0ppm Nitrate - <10ppm. (10% WC) July 30 - I brought home 2 Nerite snails from petco. Aug. 4 - Guppy had 3 fry that are currently in a breeder basket inside the aquarium. Aug. 5 - I got some frogbit from a friend and added it to the aquarium. pH spiked to 8, I removed the frogbit because I got worried and did a 25% WC. One of the female guppies died. Aug. 7 - Tested the water. pH - 7.8 Ammonia - 0ppm Nitrite - 0ppm Nitrate - 0ppm I started wondering if my cycle had crashed or if my tank was completely cycled and something was eating the nitrate (possibly the frogbit or water change?) The remaining female died. (One male left). Added more FritzZyme 7 about 1/2 cup. Aug. 11 - Someone was rehoming baby Platy (about and inch) so I took them in. I put eleven of them in the tank with the two nerite snails, three guppy fry, and one adult male guppy. I know this is a lot for the 10g tank and am in the process of setting up and building the base for their permanent home (37g). This change happened before the platy were added. I know things can go wrong but I'm on top of care, water testing, and have backups if absolutely necessary. Aug. 13 - pH - 7.8 Ammonia - 0ppm Nitrite - 0ppm Nitrate - 0ppm I'm not sure whats happening. All of the fish are acting fine, eating, and playing with each other, fry included.