Salinity Check - Now Ph Problem

[fishwatcher]

Yesterday I replaced all of my tank water with distilled and RO water. I added the salt at 3 cups per 5 gallons, and the tank held 15 gallons (I left a little room for rock to be added this week). This morning the hydrometer is reading 1.022. Is this high enough, or should I add more salt?
I've read that most keep it at about 1.024, but if I can keep it stable at the slightly lower salinity will that be good, too?
Thanks!

 

[MEL07]

your salinity should be alright. you can always add more salt if you are weary.

 

[shibby]

fo or fowlr are fine with lower salinitys, its reefs that need salnity of 1.025 or higher.

 

[fishwatcher]

The temp is also a little higher right now. It's at 81, I must have bumped it a little with my setting up yesterday. I plan on having the temp about 78. Would that work for fish and inverts?
Thanks!

 

[SkiFletch]

Yup, 78 is just fine for fish and inverts.

 

[fishwatcher]

Since I added some LR yesterday afternoon, I decided to run the tests and see what's what. My ammo is .50, nitrite is also .50, temp is 78, salinity is still 1.022, and the ph is 7.6!! I know it should be higher than this, but what do I do? Is the salinity so low that the ph is lower, too?
Should I try to up the salinity or add something else that will up the ph?

 

[shibby]

ph will keep changing massively during cycling so no need to worry.

 

[fishwatcher]

oh... I'm sorry... I feel rather foolish now...
I will wait until after the cycle has finished then to recheck it.
Thank you!

 

[ox5477]

yep, pH changes because of all the chemical changes goin on in the tank. The original pH question was most likely related to using the ro/di water. The water is so pure it has trouble becoming stable, hence why during cycling it jumps around so much. When everything is done cycling you should see it stable around 8.0 or so and it should be stable from there on out unless you start adding checmicals that treat sickness or cause something to happen to your filter bacteria in the lr or any other filtration

 

[fishwatcher]

Thanks, ox. In looking at your saltwater tank, I noticed you used a HOB for a refugium. How did you this?

 

[SkiFletch]

While pH does change wildly during the cycling process, you have to make sure your flowrate is adequate, especially at the surface of the water. Higher flow near the surface breaks up surface tension of water and promotes gas exchange, both O2 and CO2. If CO2 builds up in the tank higher than in the air the pH will drop since CO2 is acidic in water. Good surface agitation of the water will help diffuse it out into the air and bring the pH back up to somewhat normal levels.

Long story short, make sure you have good surface agitation and wait out the cycle

 

[AK77]

Do you have aragonite sand? A nice calcium carbonate sand bed will help greatly as a PH buffer.

 

[fishwatcher]

I have about 1 1/2" of aragonite sand. Should I add a bubbler/aerator? Or even another HOB filter (without media)?

 

[AK77]

As your tank is cycling, there wouldn't be any harm in adding an airstone to help oxygenate the water. This should help with the PH issues. I wouldn't have one once the cycle is complete, as you will have bubbles in the water. At that point it would better to do what Ski recommends, by positioning a powerhead to ensure the surface of the water is well agitated.

I've found that hydor-flo defusers are very good for this and also create a semi wave effect by spiraling the water. As they rotate they will direct the water to the surface and create a good sized ripple, without creating a mass of bubbles. This will help as Ski described.

On a side note, when you are planning on doing future water changes, its a good idea to mix the water up a few days in advance (some even age the water for a week prior to putting it in their aquarium). This will ensure that the salt is well dissolved and mixed with the RO water. Dropping an airstone in and aerating the water for 24 hours will help raise PH, but also put important oxygen into the water which pure RO water is largely void of.

 

[fishwatcher]

In a picture I have posted on the member's picture section you can see where my power head is located. Should I move it closer to the surface? I have it about midway down the tank to make sure there is a nice current in the middle/bottom of the tank. My HOB doesn't quite splash the water, as I have the water level pretty high, but it does have a good rippling effect across the surface. I think I may add the other empty HOB filter to make sure there is plenty of turnover/agitation.