Low pH, live rock turning white--newbie!

[gwoodbridge]

I'm new to this, but have read a great deal, and am getting some conflicting information that I need to have clarified.

I have a few questions: I have a 58 gallon tank, and placed cured live rock in it one week ago along with live sand. That's all. No stock. Now the rock seems to be turning white all over, not just in a few spots, and I did notice a critter crawling around on it.

Of my readings, pH comes in at 7.8 (according to the color chart).

1--should I have my lights on? (VHO) How long?
2--what should I do to raise the pH?
3--should I be running my canister filter all the time?

Thanks

 

[Meloco14]

:welcome:

Hi, if you have been researching this great hobby then you no doubt have heard of a "cycle". This is what your tank is going through right now. Things are dying off due to being removed from the ocean and shipping stress. Even cured live rock will go through a cycle most of the time, so this is normal. The white stuff is probably the coralline algae dying and losing its normal red/purple color. IMO you should run your lights during this time to try to keep the coralline algae and any possible hitchhiker corals alive. You could use a normal photoperiod (8-10hrs/day) or you could just go with half of that during the cycle. Do not worry about the pH right now. It will take time to stabilize. Wait until the cycle is over and then start monitoring the pH every other day. When you notice it stabilize you will be ready to add fish/corals. Until then you need to test for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. These will all be present during the cycle. When these levels all reach 0 and remain at 0 then the cycle is over and you can add a clean up crew. You do not need to run a canister filter all the time when your tank is fully running. Most people do not use these filters at all, but some use it for water polishing once a month or so. It is not recommended to use 24/7. However, during the cycle it will not hurt anything to run it continuously, and it might even help. Just be sure to clean out the filter every couple days, otherwise the decaying matter will produce nitrate. It sounds like you are off to a good start. Just be patient at this point. The cycle could take a few weeks or more. HTH