Help with fishless cycle - bad test strips thrown me off

[Martinspuddle]

Greetings & welcome to

Nitrogen cycle can take anywhere from 28 days to 6 weeks to complete. Every aquarium is different.

Liquid tests are by far better.

14 days to 6 weeks plus...

I know 14 is possible, but prefer to say 28 days to be on the safe side.

[Jon_D]

One of my planted tanks took 12 weeks to cycle.

[Samjp]

The ammonia is still dropping within 24 hours, nitrate still the same, just dosing to 2ppm every evening. Is it normal to plateau at this point so results read the same for weeks before nitrite either increases or drops? I thought as the ammonia drops the nitrite/nitrates should be moving within days

[black ghost]

Nitrate is hard to read. It will be rising...

[Samjp]

Nitrite has risen slightly although it's so hard to read the nitrite on the api kit

[black ghost]

Try a water change. Usually kick starts it.

pH and KH ok?

[Samjp]

Both fine. Read that about a 30% PWC should help with fresh treated water to kick start it