Ph Levels

[westiemarble]

My nano tank has been cycling for only one week and my ammonia levels are just starting to rise slowly. Today I found the PH level had fallen to about 7.8 which I assume is due to the ammonia level starting to rise. Should the PH be maintained at the correct level during the tank cycling process?

Many thanks.

 

[Ren&Stumpy]

many people say a PH of around 8 is beneficial to the cycling process

what was your PH of normal tap water?

 

[shibby]

ph will fluctuate during cycling.

 

[westiemarble]

many people say a PH of around 8 is beneficial to the cycling process

what was your PH of normal tap water?

I used water from my lfs with a ph of 8.2

 

[SkiFletch]

pH will fluctuate wildly during cycling. Dont bother with it tbh. Concern yourself more with salinity and temperature

 

[westiemarble]

pH will fluctuate wildly during cycling. Dont bother with it tbh. Concern yourself more with salinity and temperature

Any advice on the ideal salinity and temperature during cycling? My tank temp is at 26 but the salinity is on the low side at 1.022 (as was the water from my lfs, or my hydrometer is reading low!)

Cheers

 

[SkiFletch]

Well, depends, if you only are keeping fish, 1.022 is fine. If you wish to keep corals/inverts, best to get it up to ~1.025-1.026

 

[CageUK]

The temp is about fine, although I do keep mine a little cooler... at or around 25c.

The SPECIFIC GRAVITY (salinity would be a different reading) isn't too far off but the ideal is around 1.024-1.026 for a reef tank. A good tip from the forums is if you keep the SG at 1.024 then any increase in SG due to evaporation will still be within the accepted norm until you can top up again.

Of course this is assuming that your hydrometer is accurate. The only way to check this is against a calibrated refractometer. I'm sure your lfs will be happy to check this for you.
Make a note of any difference to the refractometer then apply this difference to your home reading. It's worth getting it checked periodically as lots of things can effect the accuracy of a hydrometer. Most SG and salinity readings are set against a standard temp of 25c

Hope that helps

 

[westiemarble]

cheers all