Fishless cycle

Question
Hello,

I think just completed a fishless cycle on a 5 gallon beta tank using only straight ammonia and Stability.  I completed the cycle in a little over 11 days and I was wondering if this is a true cycle?   Is it possible to complete so soon?  My nitrites spiked on day 9 at 4.0 ppm on day 11 I read 0 and after a 25% water change my nitrate is about  4 ppm.  According to everything I read it can take up to 6 weeks for this to occur "naturally" without the use of Stability or Cycle.   Chris Robbins clearly states on your site that cycling products simply do not work.

Any clarification would be greatly appreciated.

Steve

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Freshwater-Aquarium-3216/High-nitrite-nitrates.htm

Answer
Steve,
cycle products aid in the cycle...however its organics that fuel the biofilter.
that said, you cant hurt anything by using a cycle product.
measure your ammonia and your nitrates...if the ammonia is down and there are some nitrates
then you are good to go...
also, with betas its a bit different being labyrinth fish they can extract O2 directly from the air and are not dependent on water quality as much as "ordinary" fish.
They occur naturally in ditches, stagnent water,etc so they are pretty tuff..
In such a small tank, 10-15% is about all the water youwant to change...too much will
restart the cycle again...
Use some aged tap water for the changes and you should be fine...
If there is a cloud in the water, its a bacteria bloom and will dissappear as soon as the
biofilter which is dynamic depending on the tank load, catches up with the amount of organics
in the system.
enjoy your fish...