Need some help with new reef tank parameters

[Mark Waltermire]

This is my first post to the forum so hopefully I have just met another large group of new friends. I have been getting back into the saltwater aquarium hobby and am in the process of cycling my 72g bowfront. I have had the tank wet for a week and a half right now. There is about 50 pounds of live rock in it, with a 2" sand bed. I am running current orbit marine LED lights right now. I have been trying to test along the way to view parameters, but am extremely confused right now. I have put a dead firefish inside the tank in order to get the cycle to start as well as I have fed a couple couple cubes of PE mysis through the past week and a half. I have .25 ammonia present, which isn't 0, so that it slightly concerning as I have already watched the nitrite spike and go back to 0, and the nitrate is currently at about 25. Does anyone know what would be causing this ammonia?

The most odd part about this is that I just received my phosphate hanna checker yesterday and my phosphate is at 2.50!!! There is absolutely no algae in the tank, which is what is confusing and I can't figure out where all of the phosphate came from either. I do have a Carbon and GFO reactor, but it is not in the tank as I am waiting for the media and pump to arrive for it. The salinity in the aquarium is right around 1.026-1.027 right now according to my refractometer.

Any advice will be beneficial

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The rock and foods may have released the phosphate, something else may be limiting the algae.

Which ammonia kit? Did ammonia ever get higher?

 

[Mark Waltermire]

The live rock had been used in another tank and then cured for about 3 months so I don't think the phosphates are leaching from there. The ammonia results are from an API saltwater test kit. I will test the ammonia on my 5 year established system when I get home and see what the results are for that tank since the result should obviously be 0.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Many folks see a small false positive for ammonia with the API kit.

 

[Mark Waltermire]

Many folks see a small false positive for ammonia with the API kit.

I sure that that is the cause of my ammonia as well as it just would not make sense. Today though I got home to see diatoms starting to take place on the rock work and sand. I'm not sure whether to leave them alone as they are likely signaling the nearing of the end of my tank cycle or try to dose yeast or something to kill them.