I believe my tank has finally cycled. Help

[DBullet22]

Hey everyone i have a 30g tank thats been running for 2 months now and after a couple failed attempts to cycle, one of the members here pointed me towards Dr Tims fishless cycle, so i followed step by step
http://www.drtimsaquatics.com/resources/fishless-cycling
Day 1 added nitrifying bacteria and dosed ammonia to 3 ppm
Day 4 ammonia was at 0 and nitrites at 0 so i dosed ammonia back up to 3 ppm
Day 6 ammonia and nitrite back to 0 so dosed ammonia back to 3 ppm
Day 8 ammonia and nitrite back to 0 and finally nitrates readings at 20 ppm
According to what i have been told/read once the tank is able to process ammonia and nitrites into nitrates the cycle is done ?
Can i just do a 25% water change and start adding life stock ?
Please correct me if im doing anything wrong, still pretty new to the hobby
Thanks

 

[Aero175]

As long as you are able to dose the ammonia, and it read 0 with an increase in nitrates you should be good to go. Go ahead and do a water change, and take it slow on adding the live stock. The slower you go the better. Remember that each new fish added to the tank will change the bio load, and the tank will take a little while to respond. In a 30 gallon I would do no more than one fish at a time, until you are fully stocked. You can put all your clean up crew in right away if you would like. Keep monitoring your parameters, and keep us posted!

 

[DBullet22]

Yea i want to start off with a pair of small clowns for a few weeks and see how they do, pretty excited to get started thanks

 

[scooter31707]

The CUC should be first thing in your tank, not fish. I recommend quarantining the fish for 6-8 weeks before putting them into your tank.

 

[sde1500]

Yea toss a few snails in, maybe a shrimp. But at the very least, do TTM with the fish.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1996525

 

[thegrun]

Since you added ammonia a few times it is likely your nitrates are high. What is your nitrate level? If it is above 10ppm you may want to make at least a 50% water change if not a 100% water change to bring the nitrates down or you are likely to have a large algae bloom.

 

[DBullet22]

(Ammonia 0 ppm)(nitrite 0 ppm)(Nitrate 20 ppm)

 

[Sk8r]

You've worked far too hard at this, and I suspect you have missed cycle signs prior. [My usual method is to toss in a pinch of fishfood daily (and nothing else) until the tank produces ammonia and then doesn't. Cheap, about as long, and no fuss.]
The advice to start with snails is spot on.
Start with one snail. One micro hermit. If they thrive, add more. And feed them.

Meanwhile start ONE fish in quarantine, and after about 4 weeks of healthy fish in qt, you can put him in and start the next fish in qt. You can also add coral at this point if that's your inclination. Do read the SETTING UP sticky atop with the red arrow; it will save you a ton of money, time, and grief.