markfnq Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 hi all, just on the last phase of fishless cycling a large tank 1500 litres. all was well till today . tank can proccess up to 4 ppm ammonia overnight . ph WAS 8.2 . nitrites and nitratesspiking . tested today, nitrite dropping to 1 - 2 ppm, down from 5 ppm.thats ok but nitrates have gone from 100 plus back to 20 plus and ph has risen to 8.8 . only thing different was adding 2 wavemakers, cheapies just to push some water around . and tried the new lights.why would the ph rise and nitrates drop ??. the tank was nearly done how can i sort this out pronto !! water temp 27 . water is buffered with plenty of coral bone in the sump . i was so pleased with how well it was going i posted last night and all was good, whats changed ???help needed regards.........mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killiguy Posted October 14, 2011 Share Posted October 14, 2011 I cant think of a good reason to explain a rise in pH; crashes(precipitous falls) are much more common.With fish waste the pH tends to decrease.I can only assume the coral in your filter is reaching an equilibrium causing a high pH.Ive never noticed Rift lake fish react to a sudden increase in pH and I have some delicate fish like,cyps,sandsifters and feather fins.III chuck in a handful of Rift Lake salts with a water change every couple and have never lost a fish.Id get a tough Tang(Lamprologus) or Malawi(Pseudotropheus or Melanochromis) and put them in for a several weeks before introducing the more delicate fish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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