twinston

so i finally got my tank up and running. i'm in the beginning stages of the cycling process, ammonia is just starting to climb and nitrates and nitrite is still at 0. my pH though seems to be low. its somewhere between 7.8 and 8.0. i thought the aragonite and crushed coral gravel i got would give me a pH around 8.3 or higher. the instructions on the buffer i got says to wait till tank is cycled to add any. what should i do?

Tumbleweed

Leave your PH alone for now and just let the tank cycle. What are you using for water in the tank. Natural salt water, or are you making it? If you are making it test the water spource. If it is low and the salt you are mixing with does not increase the Ph enough you will have to increase the Ph. For now just let it cycle, there is no need to increase the Ph becuase there currently are no fish in the tank.

twinston

im making the saltwater with oceanic natural sea salt mix. i checked the ph of the tap water that im using and it seems to be somewhere between 7.0 and 7.4

agsansoo

A few reasons for low ph is:
1) The aquarium has low alkalinity.
2) The aquarium is still cycling, and has excess acid being produced from the nitrogen cycle and degradation of organics to CO2.

So like Tumbleweed said, just let the tank cycle. Than test the ph to see if it has risen.

twinston

the books don't really say what the level of alkalinity should be only that a high alkalinity will keep the ph up too. i know i should be patient and let my tank cycle. its just that this is my first aquarium ever and i want everything to be perfect and to go well. i may not have the means to repeat thte process again if things go really bad. so be patient with me.

agsansoo

twinston, We all went through this. Just take a deep breath and relax. We're here if you need us.