pH in a new tank

So im starting my first tank, I have the live sand, live rock, base rock all my equipment butno fish yet.

I have a current pH of 7.8, the test kit im using says that 8.0 is ideal, but a book on saltwater aquariums that i have says 7.0 is ideal. kinda a big diffrence.

So, what should the pH be? and how do I change it if needed? I know a water change will increase the pH (7.8 to 8.0 for example) and that fish waste/carbon dioxide lowers the pH( 7.8 to 7.0 for example) is tha right? (im going off the book I have)

 

Don't worry about ph too much. As long as you keep your other parameters in line the ph should stay in optimal range. A ph of 7.8 is good to start with.

 

awsome, thanks

 

pH will start low at about 7.7 - 7.9 range with a new tank and should go up to the 8.1 to 8.3 range as it matures.

 

That saltwater book that said a ph of 7.0 is best, is not a very good book.

 

awsome, so its working. lol very excited when things go right. side note, the water currently has nitrates at 20, which the kit says is ideal, I havent had any nitrite spike, so does that mean my tank skipped cycling sense I used a little bit of water from a mature tank? or has it just not cycled yet?

 

Nitrates at 0 would be ideal. Since your tank is new the nitrates could have come from mature tank water. Did you fill the tank with tap water? Test the water used to fill the tank for nitrates if possible.