Hi tank212
A tank is considered cycled when there are enough beneficial bacteria living in it to consume the wastes produced by the fish that occupy it. If you have had fish in your tank for a year, it's surely cycled. So, whatever it might have gone through in the past, if your water tests for ammonia and nitrite read 0 and your nitrates are less than 40, your water is good.
Now, a tank does not have to be "cycled" to be safe for the fish. As long as sufficient water changes are done to keep the chemical readings down, the fish will be fine. Eventually it will become cycled. If the tank is lightly stocked and you do frequent water changes there should be no problems.
What I am trying to explain is that it's not what you do at the very start that matters, it's what you do for the first few weeks or months that make the difference in whether your fish will survive or not while the bacteria are growing and the tank is cycling.
I don't know if it was luck or not that made things work out for you and your fish, but it worked!
