Where Am I in the cycle? seems too quick for 6 days

Hey Everyone,

I'm 6 days into my cycle of a 60g tank.

I put a raw shrimp in for 4 days and removed it and ghost fed fish food each day.

Today my readings are:

PH 8.4 (I have coral substrate as it will be a cichlid tank)
Ammonia 2
Nitrite .25
Nitrate 5

Does this seem all rather quick for 6 days?

This is a picture from tonight

Looks like it’s moving along in the cycle,but I wouldn’t add anymore fish food til the ammonia drops to 0 and nitrite drop to 0.Then add a bit more fish food and check it after a day or two.no ammonia or nitrite after that will show it’s cycled.a cycled tank within 14 days isn’t unheard of so don’t think it’s unusually fast.
The high ph means minerals for the bacteria

Day 9 and I'm at the below figures.

Anything I should do or is it progressing nicely?

PH 8
AMMONIA 2
NITRITE 2
NITRATE 40

Have you stopped adding fish food DGJ?
ok I would check the parameters tomorrow and then do a 50% water change,which will half the ammonia.check it again after the water change.check the parameters every day for three days WITHOUT ADDING ANY FOOD.
If the ammonia continues to drop over the three days,add a bit more food and check the parameters again over the following three days.If the ammonia and nitrite doesn’t rise then I would say it will be cycled.
That would be 14 days by then,but that time doesn’t go for anything.
The point is the tank is cycling.

The tank is doing along nicely with the cycle.

however it constantly has these tiny air bubbles. Do I have to much aeration with the spray bar and sponge filter?

DGJ said:

The tank is doing along nicely with the cycle.

however it constantly has these tiny air bubbles. Do I have to much aeration with the spray bar and sponge filter?

Click to expand...

Nah, air bubbles are harmless, you need the good oxygenation during cycling, anyway

What kind of test kit are you using? What is the temp of the tank?

Using API master test kit.

tank is 29 degrees C

the air bubbles detract from the water looking clear, in my other tank the aeration goes up and breaks, in the tank they seem to go all over the tank and be a constant?

DGJ said:

Using API master test kit.

tank is 29 degrees C

the air bubbles detract from the water looking clear, in my other tank the aeration goes up and breaks, in the tank they seem to go all over the tank and be a constant?

Click to expand...

Air bubbles are common in newly started tanks, they'll dissipate as the tank ages.