ph question, and a couple more...

[Cortez]

Hello, im new to this hobby, and in the process of setting up a 30 gal saltwate tank and i have about 15 pds im cycling with right now. getting more very soon. I took my water to two stores to get tested and one said no ammonia, and there is little nitrate and nitrite, lady said about another couple days and i should be ok to add fish. now the next store tested water from the same sample bottle and said ph is low (when i test is its inbetween the 8.0 and 8.5 color range) i have no ammonia, a s*** load of both nitrate and nitrite. he said another two weeks, and i should get something to raise the ph. so he sells me "Kent Marine Coral Builder" and says its what he has been using and works. But the instructions clearly says will NOT raise ph. so question is did he just sell me a product just to sell it or what?

also ive been reading on my setup whether or not its a good one, its a 30 gal, emperor 400, maxi 1200 powerhead, 150 watt thermo and thats it. is the powerhead to strong?

last question, i have also been reading that people have the emperor 400 on a small tank like mine haveing problems saying that it actually put more nitrate into the system, i hope this isnt true as i dont want to buy another filter?

sorry for so many question in one post, but as you know im new to this and could go on wit questions untill i have a short story going.

 

[Dentoid]

The product that was sold to you is not a pH increaser, but an alkalinity increaser which will stabilize your pH from wild swings. Personally, at this point, I would not mess with the pH. If your rock is cycling and there is die off, then it's natural for the pH to be a bit low. It's too early to be adjusting the pH. During the initial cycle, which your tank is in, ammonia, nitrite and nitrite are the most important. Once your ammonia and nitrite have reached zero and stay there, then you can adjust the pH if need be before adding any livestock.

I would suggest making some water changes to see if you can get your pH within an acceptable range before you add any livestock. A pH between 8.0 and 8.4 is acceptable. What you don't want are wild swings in pH especially after you add livestock.

Also, pick up another pH test kit of a different brand to compare results. If you get two the same then you can be confident that the pH your getting is correct.

 

[framerguy]

OK, first of all, welcome to RS! You have come to the right place for help. Here is a little help on the cycle...http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums...something-cycling-breaking-new-reef-tank.html

next I highly recommend you get your own test kits. If you are going to be successful in this hobby you need to know what is going on in your aquarium and why. It may be a bit of a chunk from the pocket book to set it up but it's worth it. The kits you need to run a successful reef are ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, alkalinity, calcium, magnesium, and ph. There are others but those are the absolute critical tests you need to be concerned with.

I don't want to bash the LFS right off the bat but they are in the business of making money. They don't make money unless you buy things so "yes", I think he just sold you a product. He may have even meant well, and Kent makes great products. Go into the newbie forum and the chemistry forum, there is a wealth of knowledge in the "stickies'' alone.

I don't think the powerhead is too strong. Flow is often underrated in the reef tank, ,...it's hard to have too much flow.

As for the Emperor 400, I haven't heard that they are bad. Bio wheel technology is good as far as I know although live rock is going to be your best filtration method. Water changes are going to be your best friend for maintenance also.

Welcome to RS again. I noticed that Dentoid is looking at your thread also and you can't get better help than Scott, I look forward to reading what he says.

 

[Cortez]

Thanks, couldnt get online over the weekend to read the post, i guess ill do another water change and keep reading the stickies