Hi

My tank is cycling (29gals with two 2in fish) and ive reached the nirite phase. I have read that adding salt can help them deal with this stressful phase but i am a little unclear on how to add it. Please be simple with me how to i add it?

thanks

Also my pH is very low, around 6.2-6.4, I have read (also on here, great website!) that crushed coral can help steady out the pH. How do i go about adding this, can i get it at my lfs and how much do i need? hehe thanks for the help guys. Im about to head back up to college in a few days and then itll be up to my parents to do the work for these guys so im trying to limit how many things can go wrong and pH is a big worry for me since i really have no buffering ability.

Take a look at this thread. It's all about salting. In general for nitrites you'll want to salt to 0.1%, or 1 tsp per gallon. So you'd need 29 teaspoons to get your tank to 0.1%. You'll want to take some water out of your tank, dissolve the salt in the tank water then add it to the tank already dissolved. Do not add the salt directly to the tank.

Read this. It will help.

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...?showtopic=8382

Sorry I don't know much about pH and buffering but Im sure someone will come along soon.

Good luck with cycling!!

I recently used crushed coral to raise my ph and buffer and it worked very well for me.

You can buy crushed coral at most pet stores, but at some of the larger chains you may only find large bags of it (often in the saltwater section). I went to a smaller local pet store and asked, and while they did not have any out on the shelves, they went and scooped me up a small bagful from their own supply in the back. I only have a 20 gallon tank so i only needed a cup to start. A cup would probably be enough for you (from my experience) but eventually it will wear away and need to be replaced, so getting more is not a bad idea.

From what I understand, you need to have the coral in a high water flow area. The best place being inside your filter if there is room for extras. I have mine inside the bag that goes around my filter catridge, made of the cottony floss stuff. You can also use nylon pantyhose and hang it in front of your filter flow.

One REALLY important thing is to rinse the coral to death! If you don't you will end up with very cloudy water. I would maybe rinse and rinse and rinse, then use a dark colored bowl to see if there is any dust left.

I started out with a ph of 6.0 and a kh (buffer) of 0, and since adding the coral my ph is steady at 7.2 and my buffer at 80. My tap water has no buffer, and while it comes out at ph 7.2 it falls to 6.8 within an hour, and with the tank stuff added in would drop to 6.0. So it was a good solution for me. Some people say they prefer crushed shells to the coral. And from what I understand, having a lower ph will not hurt anything, so you may not need to raise it. The most important thing is to keep it very stable. :-)

I am NOT a fish expert either, I am very new to this myself, so you may want someone else's opinion. I just wanted to share how the coral worked out for me. Good lucK!