Fishless tank cycle at 45ppm nitrates after 2 weeks

[BearPawwz]

So i started doing a tank cycle 2 weeks ago with dry rock and dry sand(75 gallon tank with sump). I started the cycle with Microbactor start ,quick cycle and using some AF Life Source mud mixed into my sand similar to how brs did it on there biome cycle series. i followed the instructions on the Brightwell QuikCycl container and tested after dosing the correct amount( 1 ml per 5 gallons of tank capacity). I was supposed to end up with 2ppm ammonia and ended up with 8+ppm its maxed out an api test kit. I didn't test the tank prior to dosing but did test my left over saltwater and it read 0 so it wasn't my water. So not knowing what do i let it set for a few days thinking the cycle wouldn't do anything since the ammonia was so high after 2 days it started producing nitrites and small amount of nitrates( like 1-2ppm). At this point I assumed it actually started cycling and let it set for a few more days. I did test the water each day but i couldn't see any changes with ammonia since its level was higher then my test kit could read. The Nitrite test started turning more purple each day so i knew it wasn't stalling along with more nitrate accumulating. At day 10 my nitrate was at 34ppm which i thought was way to high and i still had 1.5-2 ppm of ammonia left and the nitrite maxed out the api test kit so i did a water change(about 40%) which knocked the nitrates down to round 16ppm still couldn't read the nitrite. After a 4 more days I'm now at 0.5ppm ammonia , 2-5 ppm nitrite(not dark purple anymore) and 45ppm nitrate(using a Hanna checker for nitrate).

Should i be doing another water change or should i just let it go until more nitrite turns into nitrate since i know its going to keep making more? Would getting some macro algae to soak up some of the nitrate be a good idea? i only have enough storage for 40 gallons of water so doing multiple water changes would take a couple days.

Also does anybody knows why the ammonia got so high in the first place? Like is the life source mud the source or was the quick cycle over concentrated??

note* my tank still looks spotless(other then the dirty glass) with no dark spots or anything which i thought was weird with such high nitrate.(light has been off the whole time)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

 

[Zoa.Mania]

I like to treat the tank during the cycle the same way I’m going to treat it afterward. That means 10% water change weekly, lights on, etc.

Tbh you can wait until nitrite wills zero then change a big amount of water to get the nitrate down to a reasonable area (I’d say 10-15ppm) and then start with weekly water changes.

You can also go with a big water change to speed up the cycle.

I persinally prefer to wait but it's your decision.
Good luck

The tank looks pristine probably because the lights were off.