Does This Sound Like An Almost Cycled Tank?

[rossyk]

I've had my 60L tank up and running for around a month. Unfortunately as a newbie (before finding this forum!) I was persuaded to have fish in the tank early on. I currently have 6 glowlight tetras and 4 amano shrimp with a good amount of live plants. All seem well and happy, with no sign of sickness. I've been testing the water daily and until a couple of days ago I was getting 0 on ammonia, nitrite and nitrate (master test kit).
On Thursday I had the first signs of ammonia and nitrite (a tiny amount for both), so I did a 50% water change. Yesterday I had no ammonia, a tiny amount of nitrite and about 10ppm nitrate. Does this sound like a tank that's almost cycled? My daughter is desperate to add some guppies, but I'm not it's quite ready yet!  

 

[JenJ]

Getting 0 on all three would be odd - you should get nitrate readings as this is effectively the 'end result' once the ammonia has been converted into nitrite and then nitrate. The fact that you have 10ppm nitrate 2 days after a 50% w/c supports this.
 
Generally with fishless cycling the rule of thumb is when you have had 0 ammonia and nitrite readings for a week, you can add fish, I would say even longer with a fish in cycle, so I'd hold off for a few weeks yet.
 
Keep up with your daily water changes, monitor the levels and see how you go. If you have *any* signs of ammonia and nitrite, your cycle is not yet done.