Tank Seems Cycled, But Still So Many Questions...

[teejake]

Hi all,
 
So, I've got a 90 litre Fluval Roma, reasonably heavily planted with 4 anubis (3x nana, 1x barteri), 1 large + 1 small java fern, 3 hygros, and some java moss. Had the plants in for one week. Then added two small tiger barbs, plus filter squeezings and lots of gravel from a friend's cyled tank. Also worth mentioning the plants spent a week in a cycled tank in the LFS.
 
I'm new to the hobby, and would do fishless now, but here we are. So, after two weeks with the barbs I got an API test kit. The reults were very good, ammo 0, nitrite 0, nitrates 20. It seems the cycle was sped up significantly by the seeding. Did some small water changes, and tested again, and results were same but nitrates had gone down to 10. So, after just over 3 weeks the tiger barbs left (they were on loan), and I got 6 Black Neon Tetras two days ago.
 
I just tested and the results are still good, ammo 0 nitrites 0 nitrates 15/20. However, I'm really not sure how long it would take for the increased bioload to really impact on the test results, if at all. When would a mini-cycle show up? How likly is it that it will?
 
This is related to the question of when I can add more fish. Am willing to be patient, but if it doesn't do any harm then I'd rather get some more on Sunday. But would only do so if I'm sure the bacteria has caught up with the 6 Black Neons. 
 
Again, out of interest how many to add at the same time? I'm keen on adding Glowlight Danios. I would like a shoal of 8-10, but would this be too much bio-load? Problem is a) they like company, so in one sense it's good for them to get more at once (obviously not if it means they'll be poisoned), b) It's a less common fish, and would worry my LFS would run out before I could add more.
 
Sorry for all the info. A fascinating and challenging hobby this is, and it results in so many questions! Looking forward to hearing your wise words!

 

[Klonoa50]

Hi there and welcome to the forums! 
 
I'm new-ish around here as well, and also did a fish-in cycle.  Like you I would go fish-less in retrospect, but me and the mollies got through it in one piece, and I'm now working on stocking my tank up too. : )  I have no idea what the timeframe would be on seeing a mini-cycle.  For some reason I have the number 3-4 days in my head (may have read it when researchin' all this stuff), but I'm not sure.  Hopefully somone with more experience then me can let ya know on that. 
 
I have done a fair bit of reading on how to continue stocking your tank after you finish a fish-in cycle, and though it seems to vary a decent amount, I see a lot of people tend toward adding 2-4 fish per week for tanks our size (in the 20-30 gallon range).  I think the only "hard number" I ever saw on it was 20% of your current fish stock, in inches, but i only saw that in 1 or 2 posts.  I personally have been adding, and plan to keep adding, 2 fish (4-6" worth) per week, provided all goes well each week.  Not sure there's a hard rule though.  Again, hopefully someone with more experience chimes in! 
 
Welcome to the hobby!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Do not increase the total bio-load in a tank by more than 25% at one go and any spike will come and go in a a few days. Note, I did not refer to numbers of fish ot the length of the fish but rather to the increase in ammonia output (bio-load). You can have a tank cycled for 6 tetras and adding one large angelfish will likely cause a tank wipeout. Bio-load relates to fish mass not fish numbers or lengths.