If his nitrites and nitrates were high and they are coming down that means that there are denitrifying bacteria in his tank. Which is technically what we're trying to achieve (minimally) from a cycle.
I've been wanting to really put some fish in my tank ( all my stuff is at 0 ) and my dKH is at a good level, etc.. But a hitchhiker feather duster that was in my tank split yesterday into 2, I noticed a lot more brittle stars and there are now what they seem like copepods swimming and running around the tank.
So, I'm gonna let the tank sit there, growing on its own for a while further. In the end, I think that's what we want to achieve before adding anything, creating that microcosm where there are a lot of different types of organisms, all playing different parts.
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maryjane