beginning ph

[duke1231]

What would cause my ph to be at 7.8 on my 2nd day into cycling? Is this normal?

[wwest]

yea, usually when you start a tank it starts somewhere around there and then you just have to raise it.. Mine last tank was at 7.8 also when i set it up.

[duke1231]

oh ok and do you think it is too early to put my ls and lr into my tank, or should I have waited 1 more week? Oh another thing. Even though I have ls and lr should I put a shrimp on a string in the tank anyway? On average how long does it take until I see my amonia spike? thanks

[wwest]

Actually i would of put the sand in there first and then add the water. the live rock is up to you. I put mine in when i fill up the tank and then if i need to clean some of the sand settle off of it i simply take it out and clean it. the anmonia spike should be over within a few days. mine was over on the third day.

[duke1231]

My tank hasnt even showed any sign of amonia yet. Does it vary by tank?

[wwest]

Yea. If i can remember right my first tank took about 7-9 days. But i think it also matters on sand, rock type of water and so on. If you place a small peace of brine shrimp with it it sometimes helps the cycle along.

[duke1231]

oh ok cool. Thanks wwest for your help. Like always your the man :)

[wwest]

Hey no problem. Thats what were here for :)

[Seahorsedreams]

Don't measure your pH again until the cycle is through. The organics involved suppresses your pH anyway. I cycle, do a 25% water change, measure parameters for a couple of days to make sure they are stable and call it done.

[duke1231]

oh ok good that will save me on the drops thanks for the advice.

[gwen_o_lyn]

oh ok and do you think it is too early to put my ls and lr into my tank, or should I have waited 1 more week?

It's best to get all your LR in asap. Everytime you add LR, you will have a cycle.

Don't forget to check out this great article by Eric Borneman on Tank Maturity (http://forum.marinedepot.com/Topic23945-9-1.aspx) once your cycle is over.

[duke1231]

Yea I dont think I put in enough LR because my cycle has not started and it has been 4 days.

[saxman]

it's not the LR that starts your cycle, it's available organic material. if the LR is cured, it won't do much to help your cycle at all.

use a piece of raw table shrimp (we usually toos a whole one in) or a chunk of some other frozen fish food...even a healthy pinch of flake food will do. in simple terms, you need something to decay in the tank...something to for bacteria to feed on.

you can also use PURE ammonia (non-sudsing) to get this done, altho i never have.

[duke1231]

yea I bought some raw shrimp at the super market today.

[CarmieJo]

yea I bought some raw shrimp at the super market today.
For you or for the tank? :D

I would also urge you to get the rest of your rock in the tank.

Just to clarify, while there is no reason to test pH again until your cycle is over you should test for NH3, NO2 & NO3. This will help you monitor the cycle.

[duke1231]

hay carmiejo. Yea I have been doing those test, and my cycle has started yesterday I had amm. 1.00 nitrite .25 nitrate .0 my salanity is a little high 1.025