Water quality issues/questions...help please

[phil l]

Hi all,
Just recently set up a 37 gallon AGA high tank. My equipment is a Aquaclear 500 power filter, Aquaclear 20 powerhead, CPR Bakpak 2 protien skimmer...
For the initial fill up I used RO water from walmart and have used that water for topping off, cleaning of testing tubes, ect...
Put in 40lbs of uncured live rock, which I scrubbed in salt water of 1.024 specific gravity to clean this past thursday to cycle the tank. Just tested the water this morning and here are my parameters..
Specific gravity: 1.024
Temp: 80
pH: 7.8(in morning) 8.2(in evening)
Ammonia: around 8ppm
Nitrites: between .5 and 1 ppm
Phosphate: between 1 and 3
Calcium: 450
My question is this...my ammonia is still way up there...I would have though it would have dropped some by now....Is this normal for it to still be very high? How long does it take for the bacteria to catch up to the ammonia? Sound like the cycle is going or perhaps is it stuck?
Second question and the most perplexing is the phosphate level...I've used nothing but RO water to make sure I didnt introduce phosphates into the tank. The test kit i used was a Salifert and I tested twice just to be sure. Havent tested the walmart RO yet but should...but the tank was 0 when I tested it after set up. I am at a loss at how it got in there...anyone have any ideas of what I can check to see where it entered the system. Also how do I decrease the level, as I dont want an algea problem to deal with especially after being so careful as to not use tap water etc....
If anyone can provide some help, I'd appriciated it...new to the hobby..have done alot of research but am a bit baffled by my water test results and could use some help...
Thanks,
Phil L

 

[phil l]

Update..just tested the walmart RO water and it is at 0...so I am really at a loss as to where it came from?????
Help.....
Phil L

 

[wax32]

Probably from the LR.

 

[gfk]

your in your cycle arent you

 

[dskidmore]

How long since you put the live rock in? Definately sounds like you're still cycling. It can take several weeks, the exact length depending on way too many factors.
Phosphates, like nitrates are one of the end products of the biological cycle. If there's stuff dying on your rock, (and there should be, that's where your ammonia is coming from,) then it is releasing phosphates into the water. After your cycle is complete you can start doing water changes to bring the phosphates and nitrates down. At that time you can also add a cleanup crew to attack the algae that built up during the cycle.