View Full Version : new setup and PH
I have just set up a new 55 gallon tank with aragonite substrate and instant ocean. My SG is 1.024. My PH is 7.7 . I will not be adding fish for a few days. My question is can I expect the PH to go up within a few days or should I purchase something to bring the PH up?
g. mcclean
01-04-2004, 3:37 PM
If you have just set up your tank you have several weeks to go before you can add fish. Your tank needs to cycle. You will experience ammonia and nitrite spikes. Fish should not be added until these values are zero. There are several ways to cycle the tank--cocktail shrimp rotting is the preferred way on this forum.
As far as the Ph, it should read around 8.0-8.4 and usually the salt mix does this,
mrbigisbudgood
01-04-2004, 4:40 PM
If you JUST set it up, give it time for the Ph to go up. I just set up a marine tank and I had the same number for Ph at first, it was up the next day. Give your synthetic salt mix time to fully dissolve.
My Ammonia is almost off the chart. Checking daily for Nitrite levels to start going up. At the moment, my test kit shows 0. Something interesting. My PH was 7.7 for a week. Now my PH is 8.0 and my carbonate hardness is 16 (German Hardness). A little High on the Carbonate. How does Ammonia levels effect this test?