Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I am on my 6th day of cycling my 40 gal salt tank. It currently has live sand, a small piece of live rock and then about 45 pounds of rock in it. I did a water check today and the results are below.
ph: 8.8
sg: 1.024
nitrite:0
nitrate:0
ammonia: 0.50
Do I ad something to lower the ph or is this part of the cycling process? Do I need to make anyother water adjustments or just keep checking daily?

You should expect influxes in most of your water parameters during cylcing. The pH is a little high for the normal pH for saltwater tanks (7.6 -8.4). I would say just keep an eye on the water parameters, and if it gets much higher then you should work on adjusting it. It looks like your ammonia spike is just starting or just ending. Do you know how the cycling process works? If not, here's a link to an article that explains the whole process. Good luck. Keep us posted on any changes.
New Aquarium Setup

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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

Thanx Phishie.. I have been reading since last week when I set the tank up lol.
I've Read "The Saltwater Aquarium Handbook" and "Your First Marine Aquarium" but sometimes things are glossed over so I like to hear it from someone real time.
Right now I have a HOB protein skimmer, Marineland Power filter penguin 200, and a Hydor Koralia 1.
From reading online posts many people say wet dry filters are becoming outdated and better for reef tanks (Im doing a fowlr).
So I looked at canister filters but people were saying the Rena Filstar external has leaking issues. Then I read reveiws on the Fluval canister isn't very good either.
I'm not looking to spend a fortune but is there a canister that's reasonably priced and actually works?
I should've preferenced that with should I use one of the 2?
Thanx for replying Phishie..

As much as I would love to help you on your filter question, I am not sure. I don't have a SW aquarium, nor have I ever owned one. You're one step up on me when it comes to that.

What I can suggest is to stop by our fish chat. If you can make it there is a chat Tuesdays from 10-11 p.m. EST. A few people on there know a lot about filters, and some have saltwater tanks. It's also a good place to chat with other people who have fish tanks (lots of interesting topics usually). If you can't make it to the chat, let me know and I can promote your post to attract people to your post so you can get a few good opinions. Or I can even if you do want to stop by the chat.
Pethobbyist Chat

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Phishie
Site Coordinator

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."

n/p