Lana;

Until you buy or borrow a ph probe, or at the very least confirm your test kit with another, I really wouldn't worry about it too much. I suppose it's possible that the presence of ammonia could be drastically affecting the accuracy of your test kit. Why don't you wait until your nitrogen cycle is over, which will give you some time to find a probe, then test it again? BTW, how high are you talking here? I honestly don't think it's possible that your actual ph is higher than around 8.5, if all you have is R.O. water, commercial salt mix, and live rock/sand in the middle of a cycle. I could be missing something, though