The reason you don’t need a double check from a pet store is because you’re cycled, nobody has an incomplete cycle at five weeks. it’s never been documented in a thread we can read, so you don’t need to think your reef is the first one.
old cycling science habits per rules from prior years: no mention of disease preps ever, focuses on panic of incompletion and reverification over and over, requires alternate kits and tests for proofing. Has no alternate marker of being cycled other than what api says.
new cycling science habits based on the sum total of internet posts on the matter: there are no five week cycling charts, you’re cycled even if you never tested one time in five week’s wait, must read disease forum since 0% have problems controlling ammonia in today’s cycle and nearly everyone will encounter disease in dry start reefs stocked with pet store fish.
You have a passing score on test #2 but we didn’t need to see that to know you’re ready, even if it showed light green you’d be ready. When api varies it’s reading for all non chemist posters, that doesn’t mean it’s true. There is an alternate way to discern cycle readiness- # of days underwater compared to the ammonia control line on a cycling chart, ten days.
if this is a quarantine tank, I recommend not cycling it using the 2 ppm ammonia method + API, I recommend cycling it in a way that works correctly all the time, not using 2 ppm + api but using another way. if this isn't a quarantine tank you're talking about/high surface area display/then no further verification needed, ready to go for fish disease protection mode.
