Correcting pH level

Very good information Steve, as for a new comer as I am, I made sure to read everything along with post questions regarding the cycle. As for when the tank cycles all I can say is pay close attention to the parameters DAILY so you can monitor it.
As for adding new fish to the tank I always wait 1 to 2 weeks between new additions to make sure the mini cycle it may go through is complete.

The key to this hobby is to go at it slow and do your homework.[/quote]

Hey Tormentor , your right , our thread starter with a 1 month old tank, that has 1 damsel, 1 sunburst, clownfish, hippo tang ( from memory)

now you understand why people are advising patience, and making sure tank is fully cycled before adding more stock and not to replace anything that dies in the mean time.

tank has a ph issue that could well stem from adding to much to quicky and the bacteria not being given a chance to multiply fast enough to keep up with it
(it could be CO2 related also hence others asked about surface movement and glass covers)

when people in this case say, the tank is not cycled , they mean the tank is not yet at the stage where it can handle the bioload it has in it

Steve

 

I didn't mean to hijack this thread so back on the subject at hand. PH is a tough one to figure out for me also....(like I said I am a newcomer also)
I can remember back in February when I set my tank up I put in my 100+ lbs of Marco Rocks, layed down 80lbs of dry Aragonite and 10lbs of live sand. Then I began to mix the salt water. Oh boy what a chore....
I had the temp up to 78 at the end of the night ( very cold night that night and I had 15 5 gallon containers of water on the truck) I had 3 heaters going in my mixing tank along with 2 pumps. Long story short I got everything mixed and then into the tank and started everything up in my tank and then went to bed after checking the Specific Gravity, I woke up the next morning and checked the SG again along with the DKH, PH and CA. I found my readings where low on my Ca, Ph and DKH. so I panicked (dont know why, I didnt have anything in the tank) What I ended up doing was just let it sit and after 3 days I added the Chromis to the tank to start the cycle. After my cycle was complete I did the water change and now everything is where it should be.....

 

Thanks for all the advice and inputs I guess I'll just be on a wait-and-see mode. Hopefully the pH will soon reach the correct level

It's very interesting to hear about the experience of other newbies When I was starting out 2 months ago, I was really apprehensive about the cycling phase. I didn't understand or I couldn't visualize how one can know that a tank has already cycled. Having lots of references like forums and books and sites, was both a blessing and a sort of curse. I was so overwhelmed with information that I had to learn to sort through each and select the what was most important to start with. Experience (the little that I have ) was really the best teacher for me.

I think I'm a pretty patient person, but my knowledge or understanding of the process is still a bit incomplete The advice though here have been very helpful. Thanks again!