Well, if I had to guess, you either have power compacts or T5 bulbs for lighting. Since you mentioned you got it and the tank for breakfast tacos as currency, I'm going to guess power compacts. They are fine for keeping some softies but nothing that requires a ton of light.
For the test kits, $20-25 will get you probably over a year's worth of tests for all 3 parameters so I'm not sure you can beat that price much more than that. But if you are doing it just for kicks, your results would be interesting to see.
Kind of reminds me of when they had us make litmus paper back in elementary school.
I'm sure you are familiar with the chemistry behind cycling your tank but the biology of it might interest you as well as you look into it further.
Best advice out there is just to go see people's tanks, maybe as you are buying frags after your tank finishes cycling and then mimic as best you can their methodology for the tanks you like.
Each person's tank is as different as the owner's are and the animals they keep. At least you can mimic one's that are similar to what you want and then personalize it from there and make it your own.