How to control the pH, Nitrate and Nitrite levels

11774 Views 10 Replies 6 Participants Last post by usmc121581, Sep 2, 2006

le9569

Discussion Starter · Sep 1, 2006

Hello there,
I have just setup a new saltwater tank and after one week of running, I got my water tested. The lady told me that my pH is 7.4, quite low. my Amonia and Nitrate are little bit high.

Currently, my tank doesn't have anything except for the liverock. How do I control these levels?

thanks.

Here is my tank's blog

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zeb_nz

· #2 · Sep 1, 2006

le9569 said:
Hello there,
I have just setup a new saltwater tank and after one week of running, I got my water tested. The lady told me that my pH is 7.4, quite low. my Amonia and Nitrate are little bit high.

Currently, my tank doesn't have anything except for the liverock. How do I control these levels?

thanks.

Here is my tank's blog

what is the size of the tank/filtration/temp/water?

pH for salt water needs to be at 8-8.3 and your Live rock should have brought that up, how long has that been in their? it may take time to bring it up, add a inch of live sand to help as well.
do you have any peat in you tank?

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usmc121581

· #3 · Sep 1, 2006

The live rock has nothing to do with rising your PH. Your substrate has evrything to do with it. Since you just started it you can add a PH chemical called Marine Buffer its made by seachem it works very good. I use it for when I add water. But your substrate will keep your PH up. Another thing so you dont worry is that you will get PH fluctuations through out the day. Meaning your PH will be highier in the morning/evening and lower during the day, This is natural. As for your ammonia/nitrate. If you have fish cut back on the feeding till the ammonia. For the nitrate if it isn't above 20ppm you are still fine. You will never be able to get nitrate to zero because food you feed your fish contains protein and protein leads to nitrate. I have tested my water before andd the PH would be 7.4-7.8 and then later on would read over 8.0. For the substrate I used 1.5 bags of Aroganite Sand mixed with 1 bag of live sand. If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me.

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girlofgod

· #4 · Sep 1, 2006

i thought that peat was used to lower pH not raise it...?

bri

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Lupin

· #5 · Sep 1, 2006

Peat lowers pH so it's not suitable.

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le9569

Discussion Starter · #6 · Sep 1, 2006

usmc121581 said:
The live rock has nothing to do with rising your PH. Your substrate has evrything to do with it. Since you just started it you can add a PH chemical called Marine Buffer its made by seachem it works very good. I use it for when I add water. But your substrate will keep your PH up. Another thing so you dont worry is that you will get PH fluctuations through out the day. Meaning your PH will be highier in the morning/evening and lower during the day, This is natural. As for your ammonia/nitrate. If you have fish cut back on the feeding till the ammonia. For the nitrate if it isn't above 20ppm you are still fine. You will never be able to get nitrate to zero because food you feed your fish contains protein and protein leads to nitrate. I have tested my water before andd the PH would be 7.4-7.8 and then later on would read over 8.0. For the substrate I used 1.5 bags of Aroganite Sand mixed with 1 bag of live sand. If you have anymore questions feel free to PM me.

Excellent answer. I thank you.
I have my tank setup about 10 days ago. There is no fish in the tank yet, and of course no food in the water. Again, here is my tank blog: http://www.hoian.net/fish/

I do have live rock but no live sand. Inteads, I do have the shell that I bought over the Petco. I hope it will do the same functionality as live sand.

Again, your input is appreciated.
le9569

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usmc121581

· #7 · Sep 1, 2006

If I were you I would replace the shell bottom with aragonite/live sand mix. The shell's will work but over time the shell substrate will erode from the shells putting calcuim into the water( a good thing). I would replace it now while you just started then when you have everything in there and would have to dismantle the tank just to replace the substrate.

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crazie.eddie

· #8 · Sep 1, 2006

(Message deleted by poster)

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Lupin

· #9 · Sep 2, 2006

I agree with Eddie's statements. Try to call your water company and ask what they add on the tapwater. There are areas where the nitrate level of tapwater is restricted. Nitrites may also be present in tapwater so be sure to call your water company on the contents of the tap. If not, test the tapwater of its ammonia, nitrites and nitrates.

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le9569

Discussion Starter · #10 · Sep 2, 2006

Thank you all for your informative input. Yes, I forgot to put in my blog that I am using the RO water. I bought this RO system: http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=KM1431

I am not sure I use it correctly. It states that it generates ~35 GL/day. Mine is 35 GL / 4 hours !!!!! :roll: Not so I am doing it right.

For the shell on the bottom of the tank, is it really bad to have? Compared to live sand, which one is better?

Once again, thank you much for the feedback. Enjoy your holiday and your tank (if any :wink: )

le9569

crazie.eddie said:
Nice tank, but I noticed from your blog that your running a Fluval 204 and Fluval 304. What type of media are you using? Have you considered using a Wet/Dry filter with a sump? The nice thing about sumps is you can put most of your equipment (heaters/chillers, skimmers, etc.) in the sump and not in the tank. Also, you can use LR in the sump to help with the natural filtration.

If you haven't already, I suggest using RO water. Tap water may contain heavy metals, chlorine/chloramine, and NITRATES that would not be healthy for fish and have been known to cause algae.

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usmc121581

· #11 · Sep 2, 2006

shells aren't bad for the tank. I just haven't ever seen anyone ever use it, because of what I stated earlier in the topic. But live sand is far better.

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