Question About Ph In A Nano Folwr Setup

[trojannemo]

my first incursion into saltwater will be, after much thought, a little 10 gallon folwr tank. the only reason i'm even going to do it is because i already have most of the equipment. sadly i dont have space for anything bigger!

anyways, my tap water has a pH of around 7.6. i understand most saltwater aquariums should be in the range of 8.1 to 8.4 from what i've read. i've also read that crushed coral sand will raise ph. i will be ordering both live rock and live sand to go in there. no [hard?] corals, but "soft polyps" (is that right?) and anemones and stuff like that.

will this system automatically go to the right pH or will i have to buffer it from the average 7.6 to 8.2 or so by hand, everytime i change the water? if so, what is the best way to do it? all the buffers i've used in the past (and then stopped using as well) have been for freshwater setups only...

i'm decided on it. already have most of the equipment, the other stuff is going to be ordered from Drs Foster and Smith. and then i'll be getting the LR and LS. but before i do that, i need to know if i'll be able to keep my fish alive! so i highly appreciate your help!

 

[@ombomb]

FOWLR = Fish Only With Live Rock

If you're going to be keeping corals, then it becomes a reef tank, if it's 10G, that makes it a nano reef

The rock and the sand (buy dry aragonite sand, live sand is a total waste of money) will buffer the pH of the water but mixing in the salt will put the pH up to 8ish anyway.

Forget tap water, a Reverse Osomis filter (RO Unit) is the one of the best investments you can make at this point.

 

[trojannemo]

The rock and the sand (buy dry aragonite sand, live sand is a total waste of money) will buffer the pH of the water but mixing in the salt will put the pH up to 8ish anyway.

really? like i said, this would be my first time in saltwater so i have 0 experience, but i always thought the live sand and live rock were supposed to aid in the biological filtration?
is the live rock enough filtration (i will also have a HOB filter anyways) so i can save money by getting the dry sand?

 

[SkiFletch]

Yes, save money on the sand, just get plain aragonite

 

[xxBarneyxx]

Just to clarify the "live" sand is actually not very "live" at all which is why its not worth buying. Live rock is a different matter though and yes it is the main filtration.

Agreed with the RO unit being the best option in the long run if you are keeping corals. As its only a 10g you could probably get away with buying your RO water from your LFS but that does get to become a real PITA after a time.