Cycling question

[Freddyguy2018]

I’ve been cycling a 10 gallon tank for 3 weeks now and I think I’m close to the finish line. I use an API freshwater master test kit usually daily to check on my progress. But something I’ve noticed is that the ammonia and nitrites haven’t fully gone away according to my test kit. I’m still reading a very faint lime green which indicates .25 ammonia. Before it was the darkest color 8ppm ammonia, after 2 weeks the fritzzyme 7 bacteria ate all of that. And it’s been resting at .25 ammonia ever since. Then my nitrites spiked all the way to 5ppm according to my test kit and just today I tested again to find that the nitrites have dropped all the way down to a very feint purple .25ppm. I tested for Nitrates and I’m getting a nice dark orange 20ppm of nitrates. Does this sound right? Should I wait longer and see? Are these test kits just inaccurate? Should I Yolo and do my water change now? Thank you!

 

[Aiken Drum]

How are you dosing ammonia?

Redose ammonia back to 2ppm, if that cycles out to zero ammonia and zero nitrate in 24 hours you are cycled.

Your post reads as though you had an initial level of 8ppm which has now pretty much gone, but you havent been reintroducing ammonia. Cycling out 8ppm in 3 weeks isnt the same as cycling out 2ppm in 24 hours.