low pH - uh oh!

aw man, my readings are poor.... Im cycling my 55 gallon aquarium with 50lbs LR and 30lbs BR with 40lbs aragonite sand and 20lbs LS. All my parameters are great except my pH. It used to be 8.0 but is now 7.8.

What do i do? How will this affect my system? Should i wait a bit longer before doing anything because my tank is in the midst of cycling?

anything?

 

what are your parameters?

 

ammonia - 0
nitrite - 0
nitrate - 5ppm
pH - 7.8

 

what salt are you using? any other test kits/params you can post?

 

Im using Instant Ocean salt, my temperature is 81 degrees. And i dont have a kit to test the other parameters.

 

Yes. Rather than measuring PH, however, you should get in the habit of measuring calcium, alkalinity and magnesium.

 

+1 for what amcarrig said. Alkalinity affects ph, calcium affects Alkalinity, and Mag affects both.

 

My Ph right now is bouncing back and forth from 7.8 to 7.9 and then up to 8.0 as more light enters the room the Ph will rise what the Alk or Carbonate levels Ph means little at all really. And if you are trying to est with a kit its not even close at best.

 

First, take a Ph reading in the morning before the lights come on and one late in the afternoon. As far as the other elemental readings, since the tank is cycling, they aren't as critical and I wouldn't stress over them. Alkalinity acts as an agonist to the PH so check your Alk and maintain it at 8-12 DKH. If need be, buffer the water with Baking Soda at 1 teaspoon per 20 gal. of total water volume every day until proper PH is attained.

 

FWIW, the Ph of natural seawater is 7.8, and thats about what I keep my tank at. I dont think you have any worries. AT a ph of 7.8, my calcium stays about 430 and alkalinity about 3.0 meq/l.