Water levels

[Tanner]

I think the test kit I bought might be wrong because I tested my water and

PH is 7.8
Ammonia is 1.0
Nitrite is 0
and Nitrate is between 0-0.5

Is that not unusually good for a tank that has been running for 4 days..


I didn't test for Alkalinity, Calcium, Phosphate, etc, cause' the kit did not come with that :)

 

[cthegame]

what makes you think the test kit is bad? 4 days means its starting to cycle...

 

[Tanner]

I didn't mean that , I meant maybe I tested wrong because I read everywhere that Nitrites have to be like 0 Nitates under 20 ppm etc. I didn't think it would happen that fast :shock: lol :p

And also should I purchase a test kit for the calcium and stuff? Or is it not nessescary right now.

 

[cthegame]

you dont need to worry about calcium for now.

Your ammonia reading is 1 so that suggest cycle process has begun. Next nitrates and nitrites will go up.

Keep testing the water throughout the cycle process. I tested my water everyday and wrote down my readings to keep track of the cycle.

 

[yote]

+1 Game

Your in the cycle now,so get used to testing.It'll be good practice for later on when your actually adding fish and corals.

 

[darren0311]

Everything you are saying tells me it is just starting to Cycle.

+1 Game and Yote

 

[Solarfall]

What's going to happen is the ammonia is going to convert to nitrites then nitrates. You just need to give your bacteria time to nitrify the ammonia that you're seeing.

At the END of a cycle you'll want 0 ammonia 0 nitrite and as low as possible for nitrates. So what you're seeing are pre-cycle readings. Like the others said, just test very frequently to make sure the cycling process is going smoothly. After you have nothing but nitrates in the tank, do a decent water change and test again.

Your low ph probably has something to do with the cycling too, but I'm not totally sure. You will want to get an alk and phosphate test asap though. Alkalinity regulates your PH so it's arguably more important than a PH test. High phosphates kill corals and feed nuissance algae, but as long as you're using RO water, they shouldn't be a problem.

 

[yote]

Your right Solar.You'll have a low PH during the cycle.Ammonia is acidic so it'll cause a low PH reading.

 

[Tanner]

Alright,tomorow ill snatch up an alk and phosphate test, thanks for the help guys.

So excited, just gotta wait like a month now (right?) :) lmao

 

[Bifferwine]

Your right Solar.You'll have a low PH during the cycle.Ammonia is acidic so it'll cause a low PH reading.

Ammonia is actually alkaline (it has a pH of around 10 to 11). pH tends to drop during a cycle more because of carbon dioxide building up in the system.

 

[Tanner]

So then I don't need an alk test?

 

[SeaBee]

Once your cycle ends you can add hearty fish. Most people start with a blue chromis, cheap and nice looking, and very hearty. My cycle ended in two weeks, I added 2 chromis and waited another couple of weeks.

 

[Solarfall]

You'll still want an alkalinity test.
If your alk isn't in the right range, your PH won't stay in the right range either.