So after my ammonia taking ages to reduce, it has been dropping from 4ppm to zero in about 12 hrs. This seemed to happen virtually overnight and has been properly disappearing for over a week now.

My nitrites were off teh at the start of last week (had post about funny coloured nitirite test) but then about tuesday/wednesday they dropped straight to zero (proper clear sky blue colour, am sure am not getting confused...) the nitrates have appeared. If I put in ammonia in the morning, by the evening it is back to 0, the nitrites are also at zero (but i can't find the spike).

It seems like it has finished, I started again well over a month ago and there could have been bacteria left from previous failed attempts to fishless cycle but I just can't quite believe it......

What shoudl I do - I don't want to get fish too early(have been trying to do this for 5 months now so an extra few weeks wont hurt). Just keep the cycle going to make sure?

if you had an original nitrate spike, and its going down to 0.
then It sounds Cycled to me.

Sure sounds like you are finally there. Often people recommend that you just look at your schedule out in the days ahead and if there are 3 or 5 or some bunch of days in that kind of range, then continue each day to add ammonia and reconfirm that the filter continues to fully process it and then do the big change and get fish in there. The idea of the extra days even after it seems ready is just further insurance against surprises - if you are really at the right stage, the filter should do nothing but get better at the processing.

Thanks guys - as I am not doing any harm in waiting a bit I think I will keep adding ammonia and then get my fish next weekend!

You will be doing no harm in waiting, in fact you may be doing yourself a favor A new bacteria colonie will be very delicate for the first few weeks, and it won't take much to get a mini-cycle. Waiting a few days/weeks, while still adding ammonia, ensures that the filter is stable and consistantly doing it's job. This avoids any cyclig with fish in Your paticence is admirable BTW

You are just confirming that you are at the end of the road by waiting a few days. It sounds like you are there. When you stock make sure you put more than 1 or 2 fish in the tank so you don't lose everything you have worked so hard to do but don't fully stock on day one like you might want to. Its better to go fairly light but have enough stocking to keep the bacteria thriving.

took the words right out of my mouth

so what fish are you planning on getting?

Well (am v excited!) I am going to get 4 lemon tetras (going in first), 4 of the very small corydoras (going in next, need to check out exactly which ones, depends on what is in the fish shop, hopefully in next depending on suitability etc) and then 4 cherry barbs, harlequins or red nose tetras (not made up my mind which of these 3 types). I posted questions about this before and this is what I settled on.

I only have a 58 litres and no space for upgrading so no babies...

Thanks for all your encouragement!

Congrats and enjoy your fish!

The whole point of a fishless cycle is to add all the fish at one. Adding slowly at the end will un-do your work and probibly caurse a mini-cycle that would have been aoided if you had fully stcked at the outset. Do you self a favor and go all-in-one Tetras and corries need groups of arround 6, so I'd add 2 to each group. You will be slightly overstocked, but it's managable if you keep on top of water changes

Enjoy your fish when you get them
Rabbut

i wouldn't put any of the pgymy cories into a newly cycled tank, add the rest of the fish then leave it 6 months and then get the cories.

Thanks everyone.

Just having a slight panic now. I have a 58 litre tank which is 15.3 US gallons, giving 15 inches of fish on the 1 inch per gallon rule.

I just read that lemon tetras counted as 2 inches each, which means if i have 6 lemon tetras that is 12 inches, then adding 4 cherry barbs will be 20 and then the cories and I am WAAAAYYYYY over.

I thought I had this sorted! Should I rethink my stocking?

The one inch per gallon rule is not a rule, but more a guideline. I have found that once you get some experience, two inches per gallon is fairly easily maintainable, assuming you are prepaired to do larger waterchanges, or more regular changes. I would wait for the tank to mature well before attempting this though, and would also advise you to get some more experience. I'd go with the lemon tetras you want and the cherry barbs. This brings you past the inch per gallon, but is a stocking that IMO is managable for a baginner. After about 6 months, add the corries. All the fish you plan to stock are low waste producers, and allow you to "bend" the "rule" so to speak to allow a few more fish

All the best
Rabbut

Thank you - just don't want to do this wrong!

i agree with rabbut, i take stocking up to 1.5/2" per gal if all the fish are low waste producers, but with a new tank you should start out closer to 1"

what 1" per gal gives you is a very manageable stocking level for a beginner. when you're starting out it takes a while to get into a routine and to get your maintenance sorted. You will make some mistakes at some point, a stocking level of 1" per gallon gives you a bit of breathing space, if you make a mistake then it'll be much easier to fix with a low stocking level.

stick with the lemon's and barbs, because for the first 6 months or so they'll still be juvi's they probably actually only take you up to about 1" per gal, then in 6 months they will have grown a bit and if you then add more fish that'll take you to a point where the tank is full.

Last last thing (getting them tomorrow, just done big water change to let it all get to the right temperature) - CUrrently there are no plants in the tank. I do want to get some but I don't mind waiting a while. Should I get them with the fish or wait? And if I wait will they get stressed with no hiding places? Only have gravel and filters, heater, thermometer.

Thanks!

hard question, could go either way in my opinion (you're right about hiding places, but on the other hand its one more new thing for you to be worrying about...) I guess its your choice

~~waterdrop~~

If you are going to go to plants its a whole new thing to figure out. Safer to get the fish settled in and then do some study on plants, plant light requirements, etc. Then you can pick out the right ones with some confidence as you are doing with the fish. The LFS is seldom more helpful with plants than they are with fish so you are back to doing your homework.

Hi - Thanks, I now have 6 lemon tetras and 4 red nose tetras. They all seem to be happy enough. I went halfway and got a couple of cheap stalk types of plants and put some old rubbish plastic ones back in so that there is a little cover for them for now and will get some real plants when I have worked out waht is what.

Any reccommendations? I think i need ones in sinking pots as only have a very spase layer of gravel on teh bottom just now. Also needs to be good for the cories i'll get in a while.

A lot depends on your lighting. If you look in typical plant areas of forums you will find lots of talk about WPG. What they mean is watts of fluorescent lighting per gallon of water. The idea is that as a tank gets bigger, it needs more light to