Calcium and PH levels during cycling

[gwilcom]

My tank with 150 lbs. of LR has been cycling for a week and I had to use Stabilize to accelerate it due to a scheduling conflict. My PH is low at 7.8 and calcium even when I use Purple Up never gets higher that 340 usually 320. Should I intervene with PH up and should I add more Purple Up? When should I expect to see these readings stabilze?
Your wisdom is always appreciated.

 

[mr_X]

don't add anything. just use regular, mixed salt water.
"stabilize" is not going to speed you through the cycle. you are going to have to give it time.
i would suggest against using purple up. i think it is impure, for one, and causes algae blooms. also, if your alk. is not right, your calcium will always be out of whack.

live rock does not need calcium anyway. you shouldn't even bother with any suppliments until you are ready to add livestock that actually needs a calcium rich enviornment.

i would do a couple waterchanges to wash that purple up out of the tank, and then just sit and wait, like the rest of us did :wink:

 

[IslandCrow]

Yeah, Mr. X hit it right on. Purple up isn't going to significantly raise your calcium levels. Most of the calcium in Purple up is actually solid calcium carbonate, which will never dissolve in your tank anyway. But as Mr. X has said, I wouldn't worry about your calcium at this stage in the game anyway. If you do start using a calcium supplement in the future, use a balanced two-part supplement such as ESV B-ionic.

As for the low PH, that's not at all uncommon with a new tank. Make sure you have good waterflow (at least 10x your tank's volume is often suggested), and have at least one powerhead pointed slightly up so it ripples the surface of the water. That will help promote proper gas exchange. Since low PH is generally because of excessive amounts of dissolved CO2, this will help alleviate that. Also, if your tank is covered, I'd highly recommend removing the cover. Again, this will help with the gas exchange.

And as you've heard and will continue to hear. . .be patient. Not much happens in the first week, so don't worry about that. Use this time to "get to know" your tank. Do some water changes, get used to testing for ammonia and nitrates (you shouldn't have to worry about the ammonia tests after a couple months), and get it set up the way you want it.