just a few questions

[cravinmohead22]

1) during my cycle my pH is low @ 7.8 i have kent marine starter kit that has a pH pro buffer. should i worry about this while im cycling and ride it out or go ahead and start dosing to reach 8.2 - 8.4

2) i have all the test kits exept alk and mag so i havnt been able to test these yet. is it recomended to test these during cycle. i will order it online to save money but if its needed i will run to the LFS after work and get one.

my point is will my tank develope all the levels on their own until the cycling is complete or do i have to guide it alittle along the way. i have both the kent starter kits (marine & reef) which i havnt used yet.

thanks in advanced forthe help. im just worried im doing something wrong and not realizing it. any tips would be great.
p.s. im using live rock and live sand to cycle the tank. no fish if this helps any.

 

[yote]

For now,just keep it topped off and test ammonia and nitrite.
Your going to have a low PH during the cycle because ammonia work like an acid.

 

[UnderwaterWorld]

1) during my cycle my pH is low @ 7.8 i have kent marine starter kit that has a pH pro buffer. should i worry about this while im cycling and ride it out or go ahead and start dosing to reach 8.2 - 8.4
That doesn't sound too bad are your light on at the time?

2) i have all the test kits exept alk and mag so i havnt been able to test these yet. is it recomended to test these during cycle. i will order it online to save money but if its needed i will run to the LFS after work and get one.
Just order them online it can wait you only need to worry about that when your putting corals in
my point is will my tank develope all the levels on their own until the cycling is complete or do i have to guide it alittle along the way. i have both the kent starter kits (marine & reef) which i havnt used yet.
Your salt mix should have most of what you need in it, the reason you dose things is because with a small system the corals use it up quickly so don't worry about them until you get to corals. The nitrogen cycle starts with a ammonia spike and then it goes down and nitrite spikes, after that comes down completely and Ammonia and nitrite are zero you will have nitrate. do a water change every week to slowly get your nitrate out, bacteria will form that will eventually do most of the work for you.
thanks in advanced forthe help. im just worried im doing something wrong and not realizing it. any tips would be great.
p.s. im using live rock and live sand to cycle the tank. no fish if this helps any.How much live rock do you have? hopefully 1-2 lbs, I would shoot about 1.5-1.8 lbs if you can because it looks nice and acts as a filter. Good on no fish[/quote]

hehehehe I used this form

 

[cravinmohead22]

That doesn't sound too bad are your light on at the time?
yes my lights were on at the time of testing


How much live rock do you have? hopefully 1-2 lbs, I would shoot about 1.5-1.8 lbs if you can because it looks nice and acts as a filter.

eventually i will have around that much rock but at the time i only have about 18-20lbs of rock and 60lbs. of sand. iwas thinking of waiting till after the cycle to add another 20lbs. then a month later another 20....you get the picture. that stuff is expensive....hahaha

 

[yote]

When you test PH.Make sure to close to the end of your light cycle.Better yet,test it about 10 or 15 minutes before your lights go out.Thats when your PH will be the highest.

 

[cravinmohead22]

im not really running a light cycle yet because i was told that it would cut down on unwanted algea. so the light was on for about 15mins. just enought time for me to test. if i got bad info please let me know. i really dont know how i should set up my light cycle because of my work. i get up at 8am and dont get home till 8pm. should i set it for personal viewing or by the time of day. alittle off the subject but it brings me to another promblem. hahahaha

 

[reeffreak]

Ride it out til the cycle is completed.Its perfectly normal for pH to dip during the cycle.Not running any lights will keep pH on the low side but not dangerously low.IMO,algae will coming rather you like it or not so I would go ahead an at least run the lights several hours a day.

 

[fatman]

Ammonia is Alkaline. Alkaline means high pH. You are running some type of pump(s) for circulation aren't you? With out adequate circulation there will be a lot of carbonic acid produced by carbon dioxide. Lights are fine during cycling and rock curing, and will keep alive good organisms, and they will help keep your pH in line. You are going to get algae growth anyway, so turn on your lights, if you have a skimmer, turn it on, phosphate removers are great during cycling especially when using live rock and live sand during cycling. pH should drop with the die off of organic organisms but you really shouldn't be hitting below 8.0 unless there is something going on or not going on besides just your cycling. I would at least drop in a power head and make sure there is at least a little ripple running on your water surface.

 

[cravinmohead22]

thanks for all the help guys. i will be running my lights now. i have plenty of water movement. two maxi1200 and a skimmer. now with the skimmer should i run it just to get the water moving or should i run it to skim. i have had it running the whole time both ways but so far no skimmate. it this normal?

 

[reeffreak]

It sometimes takes skimmers up to two weeks before you get skimmate.Keep it running.

 

[yote]

Set your timer to your personal viewing.But start out on the low sode.Run em for like 5 or 6 hours untill after your cycle,then slowly step em up.
Mines on for a total of 10 hours.They go off at 9pm,but thats because I like to spend some time watching the nocturnal critters before I go to bed.