water test

[salsells]

i am a newby also, tank going into 4th week, readings as of today are PH 7.8, salinity 1.025, ammonia 0, nitrate under 10 nitrite 0, temp 76, have i cycled???

 

[weberian]

Since the Nitrogen cycle has completed (ended in Nitrate), and your other phases (ammonia and nitrite) have gone to zero, it looks like, yes, your tank has cycled. After you add some creatures, etc., get ready for the next phase (I am no longer talking about the nitrogen cycle here): brown-colored diatom algae. This is natural and expected but ugly. You needn't remove it all, just worry about keeping your front glass clean. Snails will help too. Next comes green algae. You may have to cut back on lighting duration (from 12 hours a day down to 8 or 9 hours) if you get too much. At 8 weeks you might see little white bugs on the glass; they're copepods, and your fish will eat some of them. Next comes ????

 

[newfishguy]

Your tank has cycled but your ph is low. IMO I would raise your temp to 80 - 82. (better for most corals and inverts)
Originally Posted by salsells
i am a newby also, tank going into 4th week, readings as of today are PH 7.8, salinity 1.025, ammonia 0, nitrate under 10 nitrite 0, temp 76, have i cycled???

 

[jdragunas]

Those were my exact thoughts. PH should be around 8.2-8.4, and 80 degrees is a good temp!
Jenn

 

[jhebi]

HOW DO YOU RAISE THE ph LEVEL?

 

[jdragunas]

there's a supplement you can get at your LFS, called "ph up". You add a certain amount of drops per so many gallons, and it'll raise your ph. Make sure you don't do it quickly, if you have fish, it'll shock them. I've also heard of people using baking soda, but i'd be hesitant to do that.
You have to make sure to test the ph during this time to make sure you're not raising it too high.
Jenn