Cycling 32G Question

[ASIN28]

I am in the process started yesterday in cycling my Fiji cube 32 AIO.
I am going a fishless cycle amount and chose to go with Dr. Tims Ammonia and Fritz turbo start 900. I followed the instructions yesterday added the right amount of both and today I tested.
Ammonia 0 nitrites 3 but what’s concerning me is my nitrates at 50. Why are my nitrates so high right now this early?

 

[brandon429]

All you need to do is add a small pinch of fish food to this mix, wait ten days, and you’re cycled and no testing of any parameter will matter. those non digital test kits are only approximations, so what they’re reading does not matter nor does it impact you being done by day ten/can reef after this mix has stewed a while longer, to ten days total time. You can simply begin reefing then, this type of cycle is done by then.

 

[biom]

I am in the process started yesterday in cycling my Fiji cube 32 AIO.
I am going a fishless cycle amount and chose to go with Dr. Tims Ammonia and Fritz turbo start 900. I followed the instructions yesterday added the right amount of both and today I tested.
Ammonia 0 nitrites 3 but what’s concerning me is my nitrates at 50. Why are my nitrates so high right now this early?

Nitrates are not that high, this is high Nitrite interfering Salifert nitrate test.

 

[ASIN28]

Nitrates are not that high, this is high Nitrite interfering Salifert nitrate test.

Gotcha that makes sense to me now that you said it

 

[ASIN28]

Update:
So I’m unsure if I’m cycled or not because I’m not sure how to read the nitrite test kit. Let me explain.
Day 1: Dosed Dr. Tim’s ammonia to 2ppm w/fritz turbo start 900
Day 2: Test results ammonia .15 Nitrite 3 PH 8.2
Day 3: Ammonia 0 Nitrite 1.5 PH 8.2 (Dosed ammonia again to 2ppm
Day 4: Ammonia 0 Nitrite 2 PH 8.2
Day 5: Same as Day 4

Now my question is, will nitrite drop to complete 0 or should I be doing the “High Sensitivity” test which makes you divide by 10 which with give me a nitrite reading of .02?
I’m confused

 

[TripFamAZ]

Update:
So I’m unsure if I’m cycled or not because I’m not sure how to read the nitrite test kit. Let me explain.
Day 1: Dosed Dr. Tim’s ammonia to 2ppm w/fritz turbo start 900
Day 2: Test results ammonia .15 Nitrite 3 PH 8.2
Day 3: Ammonia 0 Nitrite 1.5 PH 8.2 (Dosed ammonia again to 2ppm
Day 4: Ammonia 0 Nitrite 2 PH 8.2
Day 5: Same as Day 4

Now my question is, will nitrite drop to complete 0 or should I be doing the “High Sensitivity” test which makes you divide by 10 which with give me a nitrite reading of .02?
I’m confused

I would take @brandon429 advice 100%
I was cycled and still have my tank thriving thanks to his advice

 

[brandon429]

The predicted ammonia drop was the only part that mattered. ASIN28 you can see that if you hadn’t been testing it still cleared within the stated time frame, and the ten days was more time than you needed, nitrite doesn’t factor at all. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t clear by 2026, it doesn’t factor. Where you read it factored was only from material stated by bottle bac sellers, who use that neutral parameter to trick you into buying more bottled bacteria or you read it from reef peers who got it from bottle bac sellers and relayed it to each other

your cycle is done now, nitrite is a neutral parameter in reefing that only factors in freshwater cycles

your fish aren’t going to live very long unless you apply disease prevention models from the disease forum though, the cycle method has no impact on disease expression. Now that your tank can carry fish, fallow and quarantine apply. Few adhere to that need/they simply opt out we can see in the disease forum help threads each day. It’ll take 6-8 mos on average for the losses to begin if you don’t enact a disease control protocol

waiting longer or adding anything or testing in any way for the cycle cannot make your tank safer for fish - only the disease control models from Jays forum will make your tank safe for fish. I’m getting this data from the disease forum, the ten years of readable data in there, check it out

 

[ASIN28]

The predicted ammonia drop was the only part that mattered. ASIN28 you can see that if you hadn’t been testing it still cleared within the stated time frame, and the ten days was more time than you needed, nitrite doesn’t factor at all. It doesn’t matter if it doesn’t clear by 2026, it doesn’t factor. Where you read it factored was only from material stated by bottle bac sellers, who use that neutral parameter to trick you into buying more bottled bacteria or you read it from reef peers who got it from bottle bac sellers and relayed it to each other

your cycle is done now, nitrite is a neutral parameter in reefing that only factors in freshwater cycles

your fish aren’t going to live very long unless you apply disease prevention models from the disease forum though, the cycle method has no impact on disease expression. Now that your tank can carry fish, fallow and quarantine apply. Few adhere to that need/they simply opt out we can see in the disease forum help threads each day. It’ll take 6-8 mos on average for the losses to begin if you don’t enact a disease control protocol

waiting longer or adding anything or testing in any way for the cycle cannot make your tank safer for fish - only the disease control models from Jays forum will make your tank safe for fish. I’m getting this data from the disease forum, the ten years of readable data in there,

Thank you very much I took your advice and considered myself cycled, I do agree. Regarding the fish 100% with disease control that’s already being done and has been done on my other tank also.
Now in regards to what was stated above, If my nitrates are potentially reading high because of nitrite affecting the reading how do I go ahead and get an accurate trustable nitrate reading if nitrates are still showing?
Thank you for the help

 

[brandon429]

Wait a month, nitrite is in balance within a month on every cycling chart. You don't need to test for it: it's a fad to chase nitrate numbers. I haven't tested for it in twenty years because it doesn't matter. Unless you're using a calibrated digital kit the reading won't be right anyway, see any nitrate test kit comparison post.

The fish disease part hasn't been completed, you have a new reef destined to be stocked beyond just the first fish

All corals, cuc, anything wet that comes into the tank must be fallow prepped or the original fish treatment will be undone.

 

[brandon429]

Even if someone gifted me a $250 digital nitrate tester I'd sell it, because it's not needed to know to reef successfully. If you're determined to test do calcium and alk using high quality kits.