Day 2 of my 125 community cycle. Time to stock.

[93MSB]

the rock is literally dissolving in the tank, its going to raise the ph if its in there. period.

you will be able to slow the process down by removing some rock, and maybe somewhat stabilize it with frequent water changes, but ph is still going to climb. Remember though, your fish will appreciate a more stable ph vs one thats slightly out of their recommended range

another option is to look for a different type of rock, for example Yamaya stone is inert and doesnt affect water. Also, slate is inert and should be easy to find

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Any amount of that rock will make the water hard and keep the pH around 7.9-8.4 with 8.2 being common. It shouldn't deviate much from that so yes it'll be stable but still high. The only way to stop it is to replace the stone. If you like it and can't replace it don't try to lower the pH. Many fish can adjust just fine.

 

[MyDaughtersKeeper]

Thank you. This is day 5 and my ph seems to have leveled out at 7.8. I'm still concerned about my cycle. I've yet to register any ammonia, nitrites, and very little nitrates. There is a 4 inch pleco, 4 glo fish, 2 cory cats, and a 4 inch dojo loach. I've added them a little at a time over the past 4 days. I Gus's Ill ask again. Have I not even started to cycle or did the water and filters from the other tank jump start it? I'm confused why I'm not seeing anything yet.

 

[librarygirl]

It's quite possible the used filter has helped a lot. If you're getting nitrates now and there weren't nitrates before the fish went in, then it's likely that the seeded filter is helping. It is a large tank though and you're not very heavily stocked and they haven't been in there long, so it's a little early to say for sure. Just keep testing. Sounds like it's going well so far though!

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Well he did say that the tank had 10ppm nitrates in the first post. Not seeing any ammonia or nitrite is certainly a good sign that the seeded filter media is still working well. The pH drop may also be due to bacterial activity.