Don't worry about the nitrAtes just yet. Just keep watching the ammonia and nitrItes. Since you're in essence doing a cycle with fish you're going have to do a lot of work - not hard work, but work none the less. Keep watching the ammonia. Try and keep it just below 0.25 ppm (this will give you the best chance of not injuring any fish). As you're doing water changes to keep ammonia at that level, start watching the nitrItes. You'll want to see it start to trend up, but don't let it get too high (less than 0.25 ppm). At some point you'll see your ammonia and nitrItes start to trend towards zero. That's when you'll start to watch your nitrAtes. At that point you'll want to make sure your nitrAtes don't climb above roughly 20 ppm. If you can maintain those parameters for a while your tank will cycle. I must say though, it will take a long time. This method I just described will, in my opinion, give you the best of both worlds; a tank that has the ammonia to cycle and one that doesn't have so much ammonia that it'll kill your fish. And in all fairness, I have to admit it will take a lot of work.
(Looks like I answered your PM here. Just remember, this is my opinion of how things can be done. Listen to everyone and formulate the best plan you can based on that info).
