slickchick Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Please help with my water chemistry. I tried to do a search on "pH" but the search engine on this site won't let me. I have 15 lbs of LR, 15 lbs of LS and saltwater from LFS in a 12 gal JBJ NanoCube This system has been set up for about 5 days. This is what my water quality is: Ammonia = 0 Nitrite = 0.3 Nitrate = 10 KH = 11 KH (alkalinity = 3.93 meq/L or 196.4 ppm) pH = 7.7 Salinity = 32 Specific Gravity = 1.024 Temp = 76-78 Before I tested, my specific gravity was really, really high so I added some RO water from the filter I have at home...is this ok? Then I let it sit for a couple hours and re-tested everything. How does everything look? I need to get my pH up to about 8.3 so I can add soft corals but how do I do that? Thanks for your help! Slickchick Link to comment
f355gtb Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 I use Kent Superbuffer to increase my pH. Test the pH of your newly mixed water & use the superbuffer to get it to 8.2 or 8.3. HTH John Link to comment
Ike Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Try to locate a source of RO (reverse osmosis) water. Use it exclusively for your tank. Using tap water, even with your drinking filter can introduce nutrients, like phosphates, that will cause algae outbreaks. Link to comment
MrKrispy Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 Your tank is still cycling, pH will fluctuate a lot. Don't add any buffers or anything like that, it will just be an issue later on. You still have nitrites so you shouldn't be adding anything for a while. You still need to get a supply of the bacteria that convert nitrites to nitrates, they are slower growing. Be patient, it will happen. Link to comment
slickchick Posted January 20, 2004 Author Share Posted January 20, 2004 Thank you MrKrispy... Be patient...I got it ;-) My LFS told me I could add fish the same day I set up the tank and even the bag of LS said "instant Cycling...No wait just add fish" So I just need to sit back and relax. This is really going to teach me patience! Would it help to add more beneficial bacteria like the stuff you can get from Marineland the BioSpira Marine...it is the nitrifying bacteria. Or just be Patient?!?!? LOL! The wait is killing me! Link to comment
drdrew Posted January 20, 2004 Share Posted January 20, 2004 be patient...don't buy the bacteria...you have it for free....let it do it's thing. sit back...relax....that's the right attitude. Link to comment
MrKrispy Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 yah save the money. It is a LONG 2-3 weeks, but you will save money and be happier later on. The live sand will help, but there is usually too much die off on live rock for the sand to compensate. I bought live sand also when I started my tank, and it still took a few weeks. Good luck ---- and resist temptation! Link to comment
tylernt Posted January 21, 2004 Share Posted January 21, 2004 Apparently, allowing search terms less than three characters (such as pH) slows the website down, so sorry 'bout that. Thanks for trying though, it's more than some do. And has been expressed... only bad things happen fast in a nano. Low pH is common to cycling and should correct itself. It may not take weeks though -- the cycle on my 2.5g was like 3 days, the cycle on my 10g, 1 week. You can pass the time in The Makeshift Lounge forum if you're impatient. Link to comment
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