I wouldn't let the tubes sit...that may be your problem. Have someone else test it for you and see what they get. $0.02 and +1 for getting a test kit.
ammonia seems to be decreasing, but no nitrites yet?
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just to clarify,
i took my readings right at the 5 min mark, but with just the nitrate reading i noticed that it got deeper as it sat for more than 5 min. i'll be doing another measurement tonight on all three parameters and see where i am at.
Let me know how u make out, I'm going through a mini cycle in one of my tanks myself because I went a little fish crazy and added too many at one time which threw off the cycle. I too am getting small readings for ammonia (.50) but no nitrites. Learn from my mistakes, only 2-3 small fish at a time lol. Also just an fyi if you ever do go fish crazy and throw off your cycle a bottle of tetra safestart works wonders, its expensive but I've used it with results.
Not necessarily. I had 20 ppm nitrate before seeing any nitrite reading.
Day 5 of cycle-
Days 10-12
quick update:
yesterday mar7 around 8pm i got the ammonia to around 2-3ppm. today after checking around 730pm the ammonia is a shade lighter, around 1-2ppm.
nitrates are still holding steady around the 10ppm mark.
should i add more ammonia or just see how long it takes for the ammonia to go down to zero?
yesterday mar7 around 8pm i got the ammonia to around 2-3ppm. today after checking around 730pm the ammonia is a shade lighter, around 1-2ppm.
nitrates are still holding steady around the 10ppm mark.
should i add more ammonia or just see how long it takes for the ammonia to go down to zero?
I would wait to see if it goes down but try to keep it at least .25 to keep the cycle going so the bacteria doesn't die off. I'd say you're almost ready for fish 
testing this morning around 7AM and ammonia is still around 1PPM. I am just going to wait at this point to see how long it will take to get down to .25 and then i will add some more to keep the bacteria culture alive.
didn't have time to test the other parameters this morning but as of 8PM yesterday nitrates were around 10PPM, and nitrites at 0.
