Next step with fish tank cycling?

Question

I'm currently doing a fishless cycle on my tank and finally after 31 days the nitrite level has dropped to 0 [yeah!]

My ammonia levels did drop to 0 however for the last 2 weeks they have remained slightly above zero [about 2 shades down on the chart]. Looking at the chart it shows to calculate ppm by comparing the ammonia level with PH. My PH today is 5.5 which makes the ammonia 0.00 ppm. Does this sound right? The chart is quite confusing.

Is the PH level ok? When I first put the water in [31 days ago] the PH was 7.5, why has it changed? The test kit says that 5.5 is not good for fish and needs to be changed.

I have 1 living plant [an Anubias variety] the others I had died and I've since taken them out. I also have 1 baby snail that randomly appeared.

My Nitrate levels are currently 5

Any help would be very much appreciated. Sorry for asking so many questions.

Answer 1

It sounds like you're pretty much done. Try testing the pH a few more times because 5.5 is WAY to acidic. Hopefully, you just did something wrong with the test. If not, you're going to have to try to lower the pH before buying any fish.

Answer 2

you need the ph level to be at least 7 for most fish you need to add some aquirium salt and you need a filter with the biomax that will keep the ammonia down.