need your analysis...

[soulbereaver]

Ok, tank has been setup for 3 weeks.

75gal
70lbs live rock (established, no dieoff)
90lbs sand
30gal sump

stock:
3 chromies
2 astral snails
few small brittle stars and cleaner stars, mushroom, etc. (hitchhikers)

Just tested water for first time in a while.

ph 7.8
ammonia .25
nitrates 0
nitrites 0

QUESTIONS:
1. how can i have ammonia with no nitrates or nitrites? is this because i don't have enough bacteria in my tank to break down the ammonia? The live rock should have had plenty of bacteria already established in it to handle a small bioload no?

2. my ph is low (i think)... do i have to buy a doser to raise the ph to the desired 8.2? is there another way to raise ph more naturally?

 

[abulgin]

What kind of test kits are you using? Has your LFS tested your water to confirm? You should have 0 ammonia. Zip. Nada. It's possible that you're experiencing a mini-cycle.

Your pH is low--too low. Other than water changes, there is no way to "naturally" raise pH. You will have to dose, either with a buffer solution or kalkwasser. You can use baking soda (1/4 tsp per gallon) but that will only get you up to about 8.0. Whatever you do, do it slowly.

 

[soulbereaver]

The fish in the tank are about a week old now. I bought them after two weeks of the tank being set up. Never had a cycle. ammonia and nitrates etc have all been nonexistant.

now after a week of adding a small bioload, maybe i am starting a mini cycle... that's good tho right? Means the fish i bought are doing their job and forcing an increase in bacteria i need

Small cycles i imagine happen everytime bioloads are increased?

Given all the live rock and hitch hikers when i set up the tank, and having no cycle, i figured the bacteria must be sufficiant enough to handle a slightly bigger bioload...

 

[jrdoan]

Yeah it sounds like a small cycle.. keep in mind though that amonia is pretty lethal as far as fish go.

 

[Sk8r]

Do you have a filter, or a sump with skimmer? Filters are bad about retaining junk.

Put some carbon in a new sock (ladies kneehigh nylon) and run it in the water stream: carbon will remove ammonia.