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Innovative Marine Aquariums

5.5 Gallon Help!!!!!


Ryan Evan

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I agree with Alex, don't aim for a specific pH.

 

If you mix your saltwater to a natural salinity of 1.026 (instead of 1.024), you'll get slightly higher Alk just from your salt mix.  I think your freshly made saltwater is fine and you may be causing problems by adding the buffer.  

 

25 dKH is ridiculously high; I've never read about a tank having such a high alkalinity before.

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22 minutes ago, billdeluz said:

I would do a 100% water change and don't mess with the ph at all wait a week and test then get a cuc  and take it slow 

 

Again don't worry about the ph 

 

I agree with this advice. 

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Sounds good! I will raise my salinity to 1.026, replace my water, and hopefully that will result in a better pH by raising the salinity. Ill post back here in a few days to let you guys know the results. 

 

Thank you all for your time and support.

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I don't think the temp is an issue. 78-80 is normal. Anything 82 and higher is an issue.

 

I wouldn't suggest ever buffering ph. Ph fluctuates throughout the day and is effected by photosynthesis.

If alkalinity is within normal ranges, your ph is fine.

 

If your alk is indeed low, that could be the problem and dosing alk would correct the problem for not only alk but your ph levels.

 

As for cycling, did you test for those 3 weeks? That's the only way to know if the tank cycled.

 

Leaving  dead fish in the tank with no cuc is not a good idea. You will be adding unnecessary waste to the tank and yes, if the tank is unstable, possibly a mini spike.

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5 hours ago, Clown79 said:

I don't think the temp is an issue. 78-80 is normal. Anything 82 and higher is an issue.

 

I wouldn't suggest ever buffering ph. Ph fluctuates throughout the day and is effected by photosynthesis.

If alkalinity is within normal ranges, your ph is fine.

 

If your alk is indeed low, that could be the problem and dosing alk would correct the problem for not only alk but your ph levels.

 

As for cycling, did you test for those 3 weeks? That's the only way to know if the tank cycled.

 

Leaving  dead fish in the tank with no cuc is not a good idea. You will be adding unnecessary waste to the tank and yes, if the tank is unstable, possibly a mini spike.

SO, if my pH with no buffer is measuring around 7.5 and alkalinity around 180 you think that is fish-safe?

 

And about the cycle, yep for sure watched it those three weeks!

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I wouldn't overly worry about ph. Buffering it will cause you nothing but problems.

 

Some don't even test ph because you have to test it at the same time everyday and once again it is effected by light.

 

I'm not sure what 180 alk equates to in dkh. I can't remember the comversion. You want your dkh the lowest 7, the highest 10 and keep it stable at 1 number.

 

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Update: Due to water changes, I got my Alkalinity down to 11dKH, pH of 7.8 and salinity at 35ppt, zero ammonia and nitrite. Small clean-up crew arriving in the mail tomorrow consisting of 4 dwarf ceriths and 2 florida ceriths. Going to let them sit in the tank for a week or so, test the water in a week and hope that this time around it will be good for fish! Hitting the 5 week old mark this week.

 

Thanks for all the advice

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  • 2 weeks later...

Update: I added a small clean-up crew of dwarf ceriths and florida ceriths. They have been in the tank a week now and are all moving around and doing great. Water parameters are as follows:

 

pH: 7.6

Alkalinity: 8 DkH

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 0

Salinity: 35

 

So, now that my tank is about 6 weeks old, I plan to do a water change and hopefully that brings my pH up a bit. Since everything seems to be in check, as long as I do a water change and bring the pH to around 7.8, do you think my tank will be ready for fish? Alkalinity dropped drastically and is back in check.

 

I just want to make sure that that low of a pH wont be a problem since it seems that a lot of you believe that pH is not something to worry about too much, and that Alkalinity is more important to keep in check and as long as that is in check, then pH will follow.


So, with those parameters, age of the tank, and success with the CUC, do you believe my tank is ready for a fish, or is the pH of concern.

 

All the best.

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Here are some updated FTS's. I upgraded to the Orbit Marine LED with the controller to be able to add coral down the road once water parameters are more balanced. I also ordered calibration fluid for my refractometer- im hoping that all this is because its reading the salinity higher than it really is and that there is not enough salt in the tank, which would lead to a low pH and alkalinity. Ill let you know how the salinity comes out ones the refractometer is completely calibrated.

IMG_7580.jpeg

2C7880DF-E454-43BB-BF14-EB32FB485C46.JPG

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Alkalinity is definitely more important to keep stable, and something you have more/better control over. pH is important, but much more difficult to control. Stable parameters in general are the name of the game.

 

A pH of 7.6 isn't that bad. Fish would be okay.

 

While you are waiting on your calibration fluid, you can always calibrate your refractometer to zero using RO/DI water, and then testing your salinity. This is less accurate but should still give you a good idea of where your salinity is. If you really don't trust your refractometer, you should always take a sample to an LFS to get tested, I imagine they wouldn't mind.

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TripleTrouble
4 hours ago, Ryan Evan said:

Here are some updated FTS's. I upgraded to the Orbit Marine LED with the controller to be able to add coral down the road once water parameters are more balanced. I also ordered calibration fluid for my refractometer- im hoping that all this is because its reading the salinity higher than it really is and that there is not enough salt in the tank, which would lead to a low pH and alkalinity. Ill let you know how the salinity comes out ones the refractometer is completely calibrated.

IMG_7580.jpeg

2C7880DF-E454-43BB-BF14-EB32FB485C46.JPG

Dig the light and I have the same tank. Would you mind sharing a pic of the top so I can see how it fits? Thanks!

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