ph

hey guys i have a question i have a 75gallon with lr and ls its been running for 6 days the amm. came up alittle bit then back to 0 nitrites r 0 and natrates r 10 but the ph was low when i set the tank up so i added buffer of 8.3 the secound day 3rd i checked it it was at 8.1 or so so ive checked it everyday no change in the ph i checked it today and its at 8.8 the lights were on about an hour before i checked it how do i get it back down :-/

thankx
dan

 

hey! Try vinegar! Very, very slowly!!

 

What time of day have you been checking your pH!? That makes a difference...
PH tends to be lower at night than during the day due to dissolved oxygen!

 

give it some time and check again its better hight then low + you will have plenty of time to wait this out well you cycle!! you dont need a quick fix at this point

 

if your tanks only been running 6 days i wouldnt worry about it to much till the cycle is all done. it takes a while to cycle a salt tank usually give it about month. take a few pieces of peel and eat shrimp and toss them in the tank that will kick start your cycle and its one of the best ways to do it is a fishless cycle. 8.1-8.4 is a good range for ph as long as your in that area you should be good.

 

well coral reefer that might exsplain it i have been checkin it late in the evening but today i checked it at lunch time i know it has to cycle but i got some cured live rock and live sand in there and two star fish and a cleaner shimp decieded to hide in there when i bought them and i hope that they dont die they seem to be happy in there. There r alot of feather dusteres on the rock to do u think that it is all goin to die or is there anything i can do to help them along (i also have a green chromis in there he was in my other tank but he keeps gettin stuck to the powerhead ive bin lucky enuff that i was there when it happened both times so i put him in the big new tank he seems happy his brother got stuck on the powerhead to but i was to late him they like to sleep up there by it when the lights go out)

 

+2 Give it time to cycle and make sure you have something in the tank to allow the bacteria to grow. The chemistry will come later

Jim

 

The powerhead problem can be solved by placing a sponge at the bottom of the powerhead where the water flows into the unit(incurrent). This will afford you to diffuse the amount of water flow over a larger area, reducing the force of the water in that small area.
As for the cycle, as diver1298 and karlas pointed out, let nature take its course...try to remove the shrimp and sea stars if at all possible.
The damsel can stay as it will make it through the cycle. Continue to run a skimmer and carbon through the cycle and test and avoid doing a water cycle til the cycle is complete!
A month or so should suffice and then, you will be able to add more living animals, which is when the fun really begins!
Good luck!

 

tom you said about the carbon wich i did but what do think about adding ceramic discs

 

I wouldn't get into those "noodles"! They are used normally in cannister filters and rapidly become detritus collectors which leads to nitrate exceleration! Live rock and live sand with the myriad of filter feeders associated with the sand and rock are the best filtration(biological) you can have. That incorporated with the mechanical filtration portrayed with the protein skimmer are going to offer beneficial rewards to you and your livestock, in my opinion!