Could my tank be cycled?

[cometcattle]

I set up a 5.5g tank 13 nights ago. I added rocks and fake plants that were in my 30g for years. I also added Cycle. After the the first day I added 2 male guppies. Added 1 ADF 2 days ago. I am using a Top Fin Power Filter 10. I know I should've tested my water earlier, but yesterday was the first.
My paramaters are:
temp 79F
ph 7.4
ammonia .0125
nitrite 0
nitrate .10

By the way on the 3rd night I noticed the tank was kinda cloudy, could this have been a bacteria bloom? Could this tank be done cycling? Do drip test kits expire, because mine is about 5yrs old?
Also, the fish look great and have been eating since I got them.

Thank You

P.S My ADF shed his skin last night and then ate it.

 

[CMC]

We've done the fishless cycle on all our tanks after the first one (newbie mistake on the first one, didn't cycle first before putting fish in) and have never used anything like Cycle but I can tell you that about 1-2 days before our tanks finished the cycling process the water got cloudy. Then as soon as the nitrites fell to zero the water became crystal clear. After 5 years, I personally would buy a new test kit. I'm not sure if they expire, but I would be a little worried about the readings.

 

[heresmike]

Test kits do have a shelf life, and I would agree that a 5 year old test kit might be ineffective. My nitrate test kit (the liquid kind) that I bought a couple months ago always comes up 0 on my cycled tank, but the lfs tests my water at 20 nitrates. I guess I got an outdated test kit. I would suggest taking a sample to your lfs to test, and if the results differ, buy some new test kits.

 

[cometcattle]

Thanks for the advise. I will re-test and bring sample to lfs.

 

[drobbins27]

I cycle with fish, though carefully. I think your tank is fine tho. Just dont overreact, that a newb mistake.

 

[pendragon]

Cometcattle,

I can't vouch for the accuracy of your test. If it were me, I'd probably pick up a new one just to be sure. They do degrade over time. However, having said that...

Your tank is not finished cycling if you have either ammonia OR nitrite in any quantity other than zero. No exceptions. There is no other true indicator that your tank is cycled (e.g. cloudiness, presence of nitrate, etc.). If either ammonia OR nitrite are present in any measurable concentration whatsoever, you have some more waiting to do, as the tank is still finding its equilibrium. Just be patient. It *will* cycle in its own time.

Hope that helps.

pendragon!

 

[rollntider]

Cycle works great for me...I think i am in a minority when it comes to that but I use it to boost after sickness and new tank start up....