bits and pieces

Question
Ok, so I have a few questions that hopefully are easy to answer.
1. I have a 10-gallon tank that was set-up about 4 weeks ago. The water is cloudy and the nitrite is up (2 ppm). I've been doing water changes to get the nitrite down (which it has). Could this be the reason my water is cloudy?
2. Also, in the 10-gallon I have 4 ADF's and 4 tiger barbs. Am I at maximum capacity?
3. I have another 10 gallon tank that has been set-up for a week (no fish yet). When I did water changes on my other 10-gallon I dumped it into the new 10-gallon to speed up the cycling process. The problem is that I have no idea at what point in the cycling process my 10-gallon is in. The ammonia is low (.5 ppm) and I haven't seen nitrite yet. Should it cycle quicker with water from the other tank?
4. I have a 29-gallon (water is completely cycled) with 5 platies, 3 mollies, 4 tetras, and 1 corydora. Can I put anything else in?
5. Last one, How many platies can I put in a 10-gallon?

Answer
Hi Marisol,
The problem in your 10 gallon that's cloudy is bacterial bloom. It can occur in any tank that has recently been set up or it can occur sometimes in older tanks that have had the bacteria either die off as a result of medicating fish or if the filters have been cleaned or changed too often along with cleaning the gravel in the aquarium. In your case it is probably caused by the bacteria not being in balance with  the amount of waste that is being produced in your tank. It will get better in time. Be sure to do water changes and test your water for ammonia and nitrites and immediately do a water change if either is too high.
The amount of fish you have in your 10 gallon is the maximum that it can hold. You really want to be careful adding too many fish in a 10 gallon since the fish waste will be really concentrated very quickly in a smaller amount of water and it will be hard for the beneficial bacteria to handle it fast enough to keep your fish from getting ill from it. It is always better to understock a tank than to fill it to its capacity.
As for the tank that had the water poured into it to help with the cycling--it would have been better if you could have used some gravel or even some filter media that had been in a cycled tank to help with the cycling. There are various brands of beneficial bacteria that you can usually buy at the fish store too that will also help to speed things up.
In your 29 gallon you could probably put in a few more small fish just be careful not to get too many. Be sure to really keep up with water changes and  don't over feed. It would also be a good idea to regularly check your water parameters too, whenever you do have alot of fish in a tank.
As for the amount of platies that you could put in a 10 gallon--I would understock it and put maybe only 6. Again if you put too many it can cause water problems. Just be careful.
I hope I have helped answer your questions. Best of luck!
Karen