Does Prime affect denitrifying bacteria cycle?

So I am getting a little bit frustrated. Even at a slow flow, I can't get the nitrate below 10, that being said I am still getting nitrite in the effluent. This likely causing the nitrate reading. Is it possible to have zero nitrate but have nitrite? I don't think there is a way to test that.

I am going to start opening it up more. My gut feeling is that I am starving the bacteria of nitrate and it is going through cycles where the bacteria keeps dying and repopulating. My ORP probe stopped working reliably (that is a different story) so I am just going off of effluent testing.

No onto my small reef tank. I have had that reactor running for about 6 weeks and the effluent is the same as the tank!! The tank nitrate is probably 10. Is this why it isn't cycling? Is there not enough "food?"
 

IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

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