Tank fully cycled - I think?

[MiamiCuse]

My tank is now on day 37:

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5ppm

Does this mean I am fully cycled? I was doing water tests initially every day and then twice a week, I never saw the nitrite spike, perhaps I missed it.

Also my water continue to be somewhat "yellow". I think it is because the water from my city is somewhat yellow to start with, I filled up my sink which is white and I can see the water is not perfectly clear. Once I added it to the tank it seems to get yellower, perhaps there is iron in the water and aeration adds to the yellowness?

[Lady Hobbs]

Aeration will not add to the yellow coloring but tannins from wood will. Do you have new driftwood in your tank? If so, those are tannins and will eventually wash away with regular water changes and it is harmless.

Congratulations on a newly cycled tank!! Good job. You need to get some fish in there or the bacteria will die.

[MrTuffPaws]

Well, assuming that you are going fishless, if your dose of ammonia the day before leads to 0 ppm of ammonia, and 0 ppm nitrites, then your are good to go.

I'm still waiting for the nitrite eating bacteria to get established.

[MiamiCuse]

I am not going fishless, I had fish in them all along.

As a matter of fact when I started I had no idea about cycling and had ammonia up to 40ppm.

It's 0-0-5 now.

[xoolooxunny]

I am not going fishless, I had fish in them all along.

As a matter of fact when I started I had no idea about cycling and had ammonia up to 40ppm.

It's 0-0-5 now.
i think its safe to say your tank is cycled now. try adding carbon to your filter to get rid of the yellow from the city tap water. older pipes will do that once in awhile, try letting the water run for a couple minutes before filling up the sink, see if thats still yellow.

[pinsonpa]

Congrats MiamiCuse, I too would say that it's safe to assume you are cycled (established) at this point.

I know you've asked about the water color issue before, but if you haven't already tried xoolooxunny's suggestion, I'd give it a whirl. Just be sure to run BOTH the hot and cold for a few minutes.

Did you ever look into buying a different type of filter? Do you have an Under Gravel Filter or am I thinking of someone else?