Cycle Advise Needed

[Guest57649]

Hi all
i need a bit of advice here please , i have had my tank 60" x 22" x 18" 100 gallon running for 3 years usind 2 x eheim 2080 filters , i recently empted the tank and did a full clean of tank , changed substrate to sand , a new back to nature slim background fitted and new rocks, filter pipes cleaned but not the filters, 
 
i refilled the tank with water on the 27th of july and api master test kit showed
ph            8
ammonia  0.25 ppm
nitrite        0 ppm
nitrate       5 ppm
 
on the 30th i added ammonia  to give me a reading of
 
ammonia 4 ppm
i did not test any thing else
 
today the 3rd of august  i have just tested and my readings are
 
ph               8
ammonia     0.25 ppm
nitrite           0 ppm
nitrate         20 to 40 ppm
 
would you say my tank is cycled or not , would you add more ammonia and test again , does it need a water change
thanks for any advise
cheers
chris

 

[Mamashack]

Looks like it's well on the way tho you need to be clearing both ammonia and nitrite to 0 within 24 hrs of adding the ammonia. So you might want to repeat the dose and test after 24 hrs. Generally speaking the recommended level to aim for these days is 3 ppm altho at this stage since the bacteria are already there you could add a snack dose of 1/3 i.e. 1 ppm and see what the level is after 24 hrs.
API ammonia tests can sometimes show 0.25 ppm even when it's actually 0 - best way to check is to do a side by side colour comparison with your tap water.
Wouldn't do a water change until you are ready to add fish. 
Have you decided what you are having yet? I guess you'll be limited by the pH to fish that like the water slightly alkaline.

 

[Guest57649]

Thanks for the reply , my tap water i have just tested is showing the same coulor as my tank 0.25 ppm, i will put a 1/3 dose in and monitor in 24 hours.
 
hoping to keep  cichlids of some sort
thanks
chris

 

[Guest57649]

24 hours have passed and my ammonia test on the 1ppm is showing the same color as my tap water 0.25ppm
 
ammonia     0.25 ppm
nitrite           0 ppm
nitrate         20 to 40 ppm
 
 
is this cycled and can i put my fish in , if there is a hold up with the fish what is recommend to keep the tank cycled, or can i put my 2 bn plecs back in
cheers
chris

 

[Gruntle]

I would say you're cycled.

 

[Guest57649]

thanks for your reply , just got to sort out my fish list now
cheers
chris

 

[the_lock_man]

I would say you're cycled.

 
Agreed

 

[Guest57649]

Many thanks for reply , do i just add 1ml of ammonia every other day now till 72 hours before i add my fish just to keep it cycled, as it may be a while before fish are added

 

[Mamashack]

I think I've seen TTA recommend the 1/3 snack dose every 3 days or so just to keep the bacteria "happy" until you're ready to add fish.

 

[Guest57649]

cheers, i think that's what i will do