Is My Fish In Cycle Complete Or Stalled?

I am currently Fish In cycling a 20 gal tank that is planted with java moss, floating crystal wort and 6 large plants. It has 2 Platies in it.
I used some cycled media from another tank in the filter and also in the tank itself. I used Seachem stability for the first week following the intructions on the bottle and also dosed Prime every second day as well.

It has only been 2 weeks but after seeing low ammonia (0.25) and low nitrites (0.25) at the end of week 1 and doing large 50% water changes, I am now seeing 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and 5 nitrates at the end of week 2.

Have I done something wrong? or is it because of the stability and prime that I am getting 0s or am I nearly cycled?

 

i've seen 2-3 reports of Stability cycling a new tank in 2 weeks.

 

i've seen 2-3 reports of Stability cycling a new tank in 2 weeks.

So could be cycled then? Should I keep testing for another couple of weeks to make sure everything stays at 0 before adding another platy?

 

I would say using the seeded media has helped you cycle your tank. Two patties (plattys?) in a 20 gallon isn't a heavy bioload, so re-test for a couple consecutive days, and if yours still seeing 0 ammonia and nitrite, and >0 nitrate, I'd say your cycled

Just be cautious adding more livestock. You don't want to overburden your BB.

 

I would say using the seeded media has helped you cycle your tank. Two patties (plattys?) in a 20 gallon isn't a heavy bioload, so re-test for a couple consecutive days, and if yours still seeing 0 ammonia and nitrite, and >0 nitrate, I'd say your cycled

Just be cautious adding more livestock. You don't want to overburden your BB.

Thank you! If I was to add a school of ember tetras instead of another platy (as they seem to have a large bio-load as they eat and poop constantly) would adding say three at a time be best? or would 6 at once be OK as they are such small fish?

 

Thank you! If I was to add a school of ember tetras instead of another platy (as they seem to have a large bio-load as they eat and poop constantly) would adding say three at a time be best? or would 6 at once be OK as they are such small fish?

Here, I'm no expert. I would think 6 at once would be ok, but don't hold me to that.

 

they're small enough to have a relatively low bioload. should be okay to add 6 at once.