New To Saltwater-> Pet Store PH advice

[k6trouble]

Hello,
Stats:
-I'm new to saltwater ( working with freshwater for last 20 years )
-Currently have 29 gal. tank that has just cycled, 0 Am, 0 Nitrites, Nitrates (10-15)
-Two Blue and yellow tail dansils with the tank to themselves.
-8lbs of live rock.
-will probably stay a fish only tank for first year.
Background info:
I have found that a lot of pet store employees want to push their products more than explain how to maintain the tank ( not all of them, but most that I have encountered).I don't have a problem buying the products, but they don't explain the logic behind it (not to my satisfaction anyway).
My PH was 7.6 and one of my dansils appeared to have early stages of ick. I have raised the temp, left the salt levels at 1.023 (not want to loose my live rock) and raised the PH to 8.0 by adding baking soda ( one teaspoon was all it took ). Now it looks like the fish is going to pull through and recover, looking better every day.
Questions:
Several Pet store employees have lectured me for using Baking soda, saying that it will not help and that I'm reading my test kit incorrectly! (also adding that I need to stop reading information found on the internet. LOL ). So what do you all think? Should I use Reef Buffer and other expensive chemicals like the Pet store suggested?
Even if Baking soda will work, there has to be a reason why companies make these products. Are they easier, safer, more consistent, harder to add to much, etc....? Is baking soda just quick fix that will end up doing more harm than good?
Thanks in advance for any info.

 

[k6trouble]

I posted in the clown forum because after the tank is stable I am wanting to add a couple of clown fish (and possibly sell the dansils back to the pet store if they don't get along).
Thanks again.

 

[yerboy]

i wouldn't use anything to raise PH, your salt mix should buffer your PH to around 8.2 +/-
Your nitrates are still a little high, i would do a 10-20% water change and recheck water a few days after. Hopefully your PH will stabilize and your nitrates will go down.
Also i would remove the damsels because they are very aggressive and make adding any new fish to the tank a headache.

 

[lexluethar]

A few tips:
1) add more LR, you should have around 1 lb per gallon of water. This is your best filtration method for a tank, more surface area = more beneficial bacteria to populate the surface and breakdown am and ni.
2) I would look at the PH issue more from a cause standpoint then what you are doing. Although you may be raising the PH of the tank, this isn't addressing the issue of WHY your PH is low. A few "natural" methods i would suggest to rais PH:
a. Point a power head towards the surface of the water to allow the water to be agitatted at the surface, this will allow for more gas exchange with the water
b. When doing water changes, make sure to mix the water with a power head for AT LEASE 24 hours with the salt prior to placing it in your tank - my assumption is this is why your PH is low
c. Where is your tank located, is it in a stuffy room? Gas exchange with the water will raise your PH, so if you open a window in the same room, or something to this effect it will raise your PH.
d. Finally, if you still cannot keep a high PH (7.8 - 8.3) then buffer with some products. I personally have PH issues b/c i have to top off every other day, and the water i top my tank off with is unagitated and have a neutral PH
3. I think your damsels will be fine, just keep an eye on them. They can be little SOB's, but i think it has to do more with 'personality' and age then anything. I have two damsels in my tank and they do great. I had three but one was a pain in the butt.
4. Do your research. This is vital. I've done tons of mods / equipment changes to my tank w/o reading properly and blindly following the LFS advice, just do research and take every bit of advice with a grain of salt. Do what works best for you and read read read.

 

[k6trouble]

ahhh,,
water changes is whats causing the problem (arg... I didn't even think of that!). I remembered my PH being fine for a while and then it starting going crazy here lately ( because I've been learning to use a siphon to clean the bottom and its not working very well with sand.LOL ) So by the time I add back enough water to fill the tank, the PH is going to be out of wack!.
Thanks for all the info and I'm having a blast researching! This world is full of glorious things!