Has my tank been fully cycled?

Hey!! I’ve had my tank running for 41 days now with zebra danios in! My tank wasn’t cycling and it was only showing Ammonia so about 5 days ago (On Day 36) I added in Tetra Safe Start I tested my levels today and got 0.50 Ammonia, 0.25 Nitrite, and 5.0 Nitrates. I have finally been able to see nitrites and nitrates after over 5 weeks! I know the ammonia and nitrite should be at 0 but I was wondering if it’s possible to have all 3 ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates in a tank at once? Is my tank cycled? And how do I solve this, should I do a water change to bring down ammonia and nitrite?

 

Your tank is not cycled yet. You have to do water changes to save the fish, and that is part of why it is taking so long.

 

How often have you been testing and with which test kit? What size is the tank? How many danios?

 

How often have you been testing and with which test kit? What size is the tank? How many danios?

I test every 3 days along with a 50% water change I have 9 danios in a 20 Gallon high thank. I will also attach pictures of the tank

 

I test every 3 days along with a 50% water change I have 9 danios in a 20 Gallon high thank.

Just keep with up with this until you consistently read 0 ammonia and nitrites and you'll be fine. Well done!

 

Yeah, not cycled yet, but it is progressing though. Have to keep up the water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low so the fish don't get injured or die.

Stay the course, keep testing, keep it low and it's going to go slow, but it will be safe for the fish. You have a tank, you have fish. You are fishkeeping, there's no reason for impatience at this point. It will finish cycling when it's finished, the most important is keeping your fish safe from toxic build up. One day you'll test and it will be 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites and just some nitrates, a week later it will be the same test result, a week after that same again, then you will know it's done.

HOWEVER, just know, with fish in cycle, you can overload it pretty easy when it is finished cycling when you go to add more fish. The cycle was built for the fish you have, not for what will be added.
If you have 9 danio, when you add fish, you add fish based on that number never more than that number of similar sized fish, half that number if bigger fish than the danios. Your bacteria colony was built for what is there, and it will size up from there as you add fish, but if you go too big in one shot, it will overwhelm the cycle and cause an ammonia or nitrite spike. Slow stocking so the bacteria colony has time to multiply to keep up, is the only way to make sure that doesn't happen once it's cycled. wait two days for the cycle to size up before adding more again. that should keep you out of trouble,

 

Yeah, not cycled yet, but it is progressing though. Have to keep up the water changes to keep the ammonia and nitrite levels low so the fish don't get injured or die.

Stay the course, keep testing, keep it low and it's going to go slow, but it will be safe for the fish. You have a tank, you have fish. You are fishkeeping, there's no reason for impatience at this point. It will finish cycling when it's finished, the most important is keeping your fish safe from toxic build up. One day you'll test and it will be 0 ammonia and 0 nitrites and just some nitrates, a week later it will be the same test result, a week after that same again, then you will know it's done.

HOWEVER, just know, with fish in cycle, you can overload it pretty easy when it is finished cycling when you go to add more fish. The cycle was built for the fish you have, not for what will be added.
If you have 9 danio, when you add fish, you add fish based on that number never more than that number of similar sized fish, half that number if bigger fish than the danios. Your bacteria colony was built for what is there, and it will size up from there as you add fish, but if you go too big in one shot, it will overwhelm the cycle and cause an ammonia or nitrite spike. Slow stocking so the bacteria colony has time to multiply to keep up, is the only way to make sure that doesn't happen once it's cycled. wait two days for the cycle to size up before adding more again. that should keep you out of trouble,

Thank you so much you helped me so much!