New Tank...Please give your input

You can do the water change now--water changes do more than remove ammonia and nitrate. They replace trace elements that are lost to biological processes, stabilize pH, and remove toxins that are present but difficult to test for by hobbyists. So, yep, go ahead.

For the fines--I like having them in the tank. By volume, smaller particles provide more surface area for bacteria to colonize than larger particles. So--I wouldn't worry about removing them. They don't harmanything, and as they are increasingly colonized by bacteria and microfauna, they won't be prone to clouding the tank if disturbed.
 
a little more help please

OK, since my last post...I have added a dwarf angel and a valentini puffer and I still have one of my 2 original damsels. At the time I added fish I added 1 more small pack of biospira since I had done a water change. Anyway...All of my levels are fine except, I can not get my pH past 7.9-8.0. Is this a big deal? Should I attempt to get it to 8.2 or 8.3? If so, what should I use? I have dosed the tank twice with Kent Marine Pro Buffer dKH and the pH is still low. Any suggestions?????

Thanks
 
I wouldn't panic it's just the cycle on your tank. The metablic waste from all those bacteria will lower your ph. When you do your first water change it should fix the problem if it get much lower I'd add a little ph buffer. After your cycle is over you won't have as many issues. You're much braver than I am kgalliher . I wouldn't have used any fish.
The puffer is a neat little fish you might have a few problems with shrimp and maybe some of your hermits. It has some attitude ," not nearly as bad as a niger for example", so make sure that what ever you add can stand up to it . What kind of angel did you get?
 
It's a bi-color dwarf angel.

I used bio-spira when I put the fish in; that is the only reason I have the fish in there. I would not have added them to the tank without the bio-spira.

My nitrate, nitrite and ammonia are all still at 0 and the tank has been running for 9 days with fish in.
 
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