Dry rock and PH

My 55 gal tank has cycled, and doing good.. I's around 5 months old..

My PH kit, is hard to read... says around 7.8

Will adding Dry Coral, I mean clean, white.. nothing dead on it, etc..
Will it lower the PH..??

It should have no affect on a mini cycle, or anything..?? Right ..??
If I added another 10 lb's...

I used most Dry Coral when starting my tank, with some Live..
And it all is looking good now...

I was just woundering if Dry Coral, would affect the PH.. ?

Even if adding some at a later date..

It seems I always need " one " more piece of rock, for new corals..LOL
And for the difference in $$$ Between Live and Dry... I let mine cure on its own..
All I have is time...


Thanks, Larry

 

coral is supposed to be good for the alkalnity; i do remember reading that somewhere ( i think in the saltwater tanks for dummies book).

However, if you're worried about pH, as long as you complete weekly water changes your salt mix should help regulate it (contains the buffers and other trace elements you need). Also what time of day are you taking your PH readings? pH fluctuates throughout the day from when lights come on til they go off. I think the most accurate reading is a little before your lights turn off for night time.

And if all else fails you could always get a buffer to raise it; as always use with caution and make sure it doesn't raise it too high.

 

and i do mean dry coral; or "dead heads"

 

You will want to raise the pH to about 8.3 gradually. What type of sand bed are you using? Using aragonite will help serve as a buffer for your tank. It will help with your dkH and your calcium levels. Check your dkH levels though, that is your key to preventing pH swings. I try to keep my dkH around 10-11, my pH stays around 8.2-8.3.

 

Hello!

Before you do dKH adjustment (desired level 8-12) gradually increase pH! Try to increase pH 0.1 unit / day! Use good buffer solution e.g. Reef Buffer by Seachem. It automatically rises dKH by 0.5 with every 0.1 unit of pH. Order of pH/dKH adjustment is quite important!

Good luck!

 

Could someone explain the difference between live rock and dry rock? Wouldn't live rock introduce more life into the aquarium? How does one cure dry rock?
I have a 24-G Nano up and running 5 weeks.

 

I use aragonite as a base.. I don't know why mine was off, now reads between 8.3 and 8.4.. And staying there..
Drummey..
Live rock has been in a tank a while and has alkinds of living things on it..
Dry Rock or Dead Head,, Once was live rock, when collected..
But has been cleaned, etc. And is white.. With nothing on it...
Where I live there was a Big difference in price..
Dry Rock.. 2.00 a lb..
Cured Rock ... from 7 to 10 dollars a lb ..

And I needed alot, And had nothing but time.. So I went with both, Mostly Dry Rock,
And a good bit of Live Rock to seed the rest..
I also done the same with my aragonite .. Dry on the bottom, 15 lb's Live on the top..
And Time..... while my tank cycled..
Now all my rock is Live Rock.. But my 55 gal tank is around 5 months old..



I got One piece of Dry Rock that weighted 18 Lb.. DRY... Cost me 36.00 ..
Figure out much it would have cost if it were Live Rock...

All live rock is the way to go, if you have the money..
I was just starting out and had to buy everything.. So money was short..

I also used frozen raw shrimp.. It all worked for me.. To Cycle..
BUT ...
This MAY NOT be the way for others to go....

5 weeks is a young tank... Take it SLOW ..

Good Luck, Larry

PS
I was raised in East Chicago/Hammond Ind..

WELCOME to 3Reef .. There is a world of Info here.. !!!!


.

 

Hi Larry:
Thanks for your answers. Although my tank has been set up for 5 weeks old I bought used and got all the rock with it. It was a functioning aquarium but very dirty and the rock was very dirty. I put new live sand in (the old sand had bristle worms in it.) But I got red slime on the rock. I treated the tank this weekend and it seems to have worked. But I don't think there are a lot of good healthy organisms on this rock. So I want to add some live rock and let it propagate to this older rock. Thanks for taking the time to respond to my question. It's good to have a place to go for information other than the LFS where sometimes their answers are based on economic factors (trying to sell me stuff I don't need.)
I am in the N W Suburbs of Chicago since April and love this area. A lot of reef nthusiasts in this area.
Thanks again.
Vicki