cycling

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haus

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
May 26, 2005
Messages
415
Location
Batavia NY
OK I have finally got things up and running. I have a 4 in. DSB, a seaclone skimmer, fluval 304, and 2 penguin 660 ph's. I put a raw piece of shrimp in the tank about 3 days ago. Last night I tested the water for just ammonia, nitrate, and pH. Ammonia is .6, trate is .5, and pH is 7.7. Will the pH gradually rise, or is there something that I have to do in order to get it up to 8.2? Oh yeah SG is 1.024. This is the part that eats me up alive, watching a tank with just water and rocks. My imagination is running wild :D
 
What salt mix did you use. During the cycle things do not test out correctly at all. My stuff was all weird until the cycle was over for about a week then it all leveled out perfectly and everything in my tank is going great. Be Patient dont worry about numbers just yet. You have a ways to go yet. :-D HTH
 
i agree i wouldnt worry to much about ph till after your cycle is done
 
yes, when cycling, focus on ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate, and your salinity (which should be stable).

a few people have made the mistake of cycling with freshwater, to save money on salt, only to learn that FW and SW cycling bacteria are slightly different, and the osmotic pressure change from dumping in enough salt to go from 1.000 to 1.022 kills all the bacteria, and they get to start all over again.
 
OK!! the pH was my only real concern. I use Instant Ocean salt, and have that right where I need it. How often, if at all, do I need to change the water during cycling? Thanks for all the help so far.
 
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