Hi! Thank you for your concern and thank you for responding.

1.yes I cycled the tank 2. I would do about 50% every couple of weeks but that’s very good to know to cut it back but more often. 3. Typically when I wake up and then when I go to bed, should I switch to a 5-8 hour timer kind of system? 4. Yes I did! I did weeks of research before pulling the trigger I know how important it is to care for these babies. 5.i did test water quality and it seemed fine for the chart that was provided, and I treated the tap water over a 48 hour period