Need help with new to me "established" tank, possible ph issue

Just got a 72bow that was previously ran as saltwater tank. Tank was in opperation when I bought it, but there were only 3 little hermit crabs and no fish. It has a fluval 405 pump and a penguin 350 hang on filter. I also have 1 power head to help with water movement. Temp is 79f sg is 1.022
and when i checked ammonia it was 0 nitrite 0 and nitrate 0.2. Last night I put two clowns in the tank, acclimated them by adding a little water to the bag every ten minutes while it floated in the tank. Last night they were swimming around, checking out the whole tank, I fed them a little bit and both ate. This morning I get up and one is swimming around but the other is kind of listing and not doing much. I checked sg its ok but my ph was 7.8. I added some ph up and as soon as i did the listing fish began to swim around like normal again. Just wondering if this sounds like a ph issue or if it may be something else. thanks in advance for the help.

 

I think it is just clownfish personality. They tend to do some strange things

 

A ph of that level should not have any negative affect on clowns.

 

I am going to take a water sample down to the lfs. I taked with the guy on saturday and he seemed willing to help me out. He also has a used protein skimmer im going to pick up for $70.

 

Anymore input on this? All help is greatly appreciated.

 

Don't get to wrapped up in pH. It changes throughout the day and you can worry yourself sick trying to chase it up and down. It is what it is. Once the tank settles down it will probably straighten itself out on its own, don't add chemicals, supplements and additives. pH is probably the lowest late at night and in the morning and will climb throughout the day as the lights are on and things happen in the tank.

I would consider bringing your specific gravity up to about 1.025 if you are considering adding any corals in the future. Fish can take lower salinity but corals and inverts like it higher.

 

Not much to add other than it's a pretty sure bet, IMO, that pH is not a factor in the behavior of your clownfish. If one clownfish is fine and the other is not, you can rule out water quality--if a parameter is bad enough to produce a struggling fish, then all fish should be affected. As one poster said above, clownfish often behave in an unpredictable way.

Continue to take things slow and watch to see changes in your tank while doing your best to coorelate them to changing conditions. Nothing here happens fast. Good luck!

 

Just an update for everyone. The LFS agreed that my water is fine, they did a check for me. The clown that was acting weird still does some funky stuff here and there, but he eats and most of the time he is all over the place with his buddy. Last night he was facing down to the bottom of the tank in the front corner just sitting there for about 30 min then took off and kept swimming around normal. This has been stressfull and also fun to watch. One question about a hermit crab that I got the same time as the clowns, he just sits in one spot behind my rocks and doesnt go anywhere. I see him in and out of his shell and he looks like he is eating off the rocks. Could he have just found a good spot with plenty of food or could there be a problem. Thanks in advance.