Good, but odd

[Will]

So today I switched my tank from gravel to bare bottom. I expected that the tank would go through a mini cycle because I removed the gravel and removed probably 2/3 of the tanks water, but the ammonia and nitrites appear to be 0 and the nitrate reading is between 10-20. I do have Alot of algae on some of the objects in the tank. Could that have made up for the bacteria I lost removing the gravel and water? There still is some waste on the bottom, but I'm planning on removing it tommorrow. It just seems like there is something not right here.

[xMIDNIGHTx]

The way I see it, everything seems fine. Because your tank was well setup, you still have a the right bacteria to keep things under control. But, now that you removed the gravel and some of the water you don't have as much of it. Now you will have to check the water more often for "spikes" but things should be pretty good, just be careful.

Mitch

[Nathan]

The healthy bacteria live on every surface in the tank, including ornaments, plants, glass, etc. Just taking out the gravel and doing a water change won't usually cause the tank to begin a new cycle.

[Will]

What would cause the spikes?

[xMIDNIGHTx]

When you have newt waste, uneaten food and decaying plant matter introduced into your setup, it is controlled. But because you will be removing some of this "helpful" bacteria, it MIGHT raise more than before. So it will be more of a increased raise in ammonia/nitrite levels than a "spike". I just said spike because it can happen very quick depending on the variables above. Just test it more until you know everything is under control.

Mitch