Yup, it is the dreaded cycling.
You don't need to worry about the pH right now. Get everything else stable first:
I assume your ammonia is a non-issue or your fish would be dying or dead.
Then test your Nitrite, this is the second item you need to be at 0ppm.
Then Nitrate. This will go way up before it drops slowly down.
When you get it to near 0ppm, and keeping that figure for a few days, then you are ready to add **slowly** fish, one at a time over the next few weeks, or even months. Test in between of each addition of fish. Keep water changes steady, preferably either weekly or bi-weekly, depending on your needs.
Depending on what style of tank you want to keep, FOWLR, LPS, or SPS, you will need to test for Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, at the minimum. Get these to the recommended levels, and keep them up by dosing, or Kalkwasser top-off. When all these are good, you can add your corals, if you wish.
HTH. Lenny.
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