diatoms? or normal rock coloring

nope nothing to start a cycle, but i have been thinking about going out and buying dead shrimp

 

i won't be able to get the rocks out because that would make the rest of the rock become unstable

 

i tested yesterday and all tests were still really high and hadn't changed. I can't do a w.c. yet because i'm out of water, i'm hoping to make it to the lfs sometime next week to see if i like the place, get some water, and have my water tested there

 

Becareful with that. Make sure you have a reliable person testing your water with a reliable test kit.

 

kk when i go to the lfs, it will be my first time there, so the only thing that i'm worried about is that they say all the tests are good and try to talk me into buying stuff, and i can't stand sales people, all i want to do is ignore them if someone is trying to sell something to me, so that's my only worry.

 

so i tested nitrites and it's still at >1

 

So true. With LFS's I find it better to never tell them what your shopping for, they'll want you to know their opinion and try and sell you something different, a common line I get is "oh that'll never work, you need one of these, some if this, and a couple of those".
So i go in and find what i want myself, if i see it i ask to have it bagged up, if not then i walk away.