The Cycle Has Begun!

John (5 yrs old, my #2) insisted on being in the picture. The water is clearer than this picture makes it look.

I tested the water for the first time Saturday (you can see the results below) and there were signs that the cycle might be starting, but nothing certain. I tested tonight, and got the following results:

Temperature: 79F (holding steady between 78.5-80F)
pH: 8.0
SG: 1.024
NH3 (Ammonia): 2ppm (up from 0.5ppm on Saturday)
NO2 (Nitrite): 0.5ppm (up from 0 on Saturday)
NO3 (Nitrate): 5ppm (up from 0 on Saturday)

That to me says the Nitrogen cycle is really starting! Far sooner than I expected! Now we wait for the NH3 and NO2 to go to zero before we can do a water change and start adding livestock!

My nitrogen source, what was a grocery store shrimp!