Cycling and Equipment Questions

[bretth7377]

(i think i may have labeled the subject wrong in the previous post)
I have a couple questions about using the fluval media after reading some posts on here. Beth said not to use the carbon after 2 weeks because it can become a biological filtration. So I removed my carbon pads, but is it suggested to remove the bio balls as well? I thought it sounds best to just use the fluval for water circulation. Also, it comes with foam pads, do I keep those in there or not? Right now I removed the bio balls and carbon and kept the foam pads in. I am currently cycling my tank and after cleaning the fluval and taking the media out it looks like I lost a lot of water. Is it ok to put more water in (distilled?) Or should I just wait until after the cycle finishes because I heard it would prolong the cycle? Also one last question, ph is low... is it suggested to put the chemical in that raises ph to 8.2 even if its a cycling tank or wait until after the tank is cycled?
I currently have:
46 gl bow tank
55 lbs live rock
75 lbs live sand
2 damsels
pH 7.4
amonia 8.0
nitrie 5.0
nitrate 160
Thanks, Brett

 

[mr . salty]

Sounds like you have everything pretty much under control.I would leave the balls,and the carbon out of that filter.With all that live rock and sand,you really don't need any more bio media in there. And it would be OK to add top off water now.But wait to adjust the PH till the cycle is done. Ph usually goes a little haywire during the cycle...