I am trying to perform a fishless cycle on my aquarium. Currently I'm
adding 1/2 teaspoon of ammonia nightly (enough to bring the
concentration to 2ppm) and the next day my ammonia level is zero.

My concern is my Nitrite. About two weeks ago it spiked to 5ppm and
recently (about 5 days ago) it has fallen and held steady at
2ppm. So my question is how long should I expect the nitrite to be
this high?

Another oddity is my Nitrate. It raised from 5 to 10ppm and then it
seems to be falling. Since I have no plants in the aquarium, what
would cause this. I have noticed a white hair-like growth on a fake
rock that looks like fungus. Could this be an algae? And could this be
why my nitrate seems to be falling.


And when this process is finally finished how many fish should I put
in the aquarium? Should I start slow? Or is it safe to put a full
compliment of fish in the aquarium?