PH question

[nightridr]

HI,
I have a 30 gal tank with 15lbs of live rock and 40 lbs of live sand. No powerheads or skimmer yet, getting them when i am almost ready for fish. I am a week and 3 days into cycle and test readings are all at 0. My Ph is 7.8 and I have added some Ph up to get it to go up but it will only go up for about 8 hours and then right back down to 7.8. How do i get it to stay up or is this normal for not finishing the cycle?

 

[ppm411]

IMO I wouldn'y worry about your pH right now. I also have a 30 gallon tank and cycled it in about 3 weeks, unsing 30lbs base rock, LS, some Cycle solution (bottled bacteria) and a few damsels to kick off the cyccle. You can just ghost feed the tank for a week or so. In other words just feed the tank as if there were fish in there once a day. As the food breaks down you will start to see your ammonia spike, then the trites then the trates. Evenually the ammonia and trites should go down to zero. Back to your original question, my ph was also low (7.8) in the very beginning. My tank is now 5 weeks old and the pH is stable at 8.1 and I didn't do anything to adjust it. Good luck and welcome, you've come to the right place for good info. There isn't much that isn't covered here.

 

[nightridr]

thank you

 

[escape2thewater]

Your ph should go up when you install the powerheads and increase your circulation. As mentioned above though, I wouldnt worry too much about ph until after your cycle.
Escape