Welcome to Fishlore! Don't feel bad, most of us who come to this forum started off the same way you did. I'm glad you found the
nitrogen cycle page and are willing to do what is necessary to help your fishies get through the cycle as safely as possible. Daily water changes are essential when cycling with fish to help protect them from the toxic ammonia and nitrites they will be exposed to during the process. I would recommend upping your water changes to about 50% daily and keep up with the Prime. May I ask what
test kit you are using? I ask because test strips are known for being highly inaccurate and a liquid test kit will give you more reliable information. Many of us on this forum use the
API Master Test Kit which includes tests for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates and pH. It is not necessary to use this exact kit, but having a liquid test kit is highly recommended.
Prime is the #1 recommended water conditioner to have when it comes to cycling with fish since it's one of the few conditioners that will not only remove
chlorine and chloramines, but will also detox the ammonia and nitrites for 24 hours between water changes. If you are adding the Prime to the new water BEFORE you add it to the tank then you only need to add enough for the new water. If you add the Prime AFTER you have added the new water to the tank then you need to dose for the entire tank. Since it is safe to add up to 5 times the recommended dosage of Prime I would recommend adding enough to dose the entire tank while you're cycling to ensure you've detoxed all the ammonia.
Nate was right on the money in saying that of all the bacteria supplements available today, TSS is the only one that will actually help a cycle. The rest are a waste of money and time and can prove to be very dangerous to your fish since they generally lead to your cycle crashing. TSS is very hard to find in stores and for the most part needs to be ordered online. If you wish to go that route be aware that TSS is designed to be added just before adding the fish. It can and has worked when being added after, but you will need to drop your ammonia levels to as close to 0 as possible otherwise the beneficial bacteria in TSS will be overwhelmed.
Another issue that you will run into is that your tank is overstocked. The platys might be okay, but plecos get too big for a 5 gallon. Depending on the species, it could get too big for anything smaller than a 50 gallon. They not only get huge, but they are also huge waste producers which makes it difficult for a small filter to manage. Even the smallest plecos need at least a 10 gallon, more likely a 20. I would recommend returning or rehoming him if you can't get a suitable tank for him. If you want something to clean up the bottom of the tank, perhaps ghost shrimp would be a better choice. They are small enough and are very low waste producers, much more suitable for a tank your size.
Good luck with your tank and please keep us posted on your progress. We also really love pictures!
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