Low Ph During Fishless Cycle

[Gremily]

Hi, I'm on my 13th day of my fishless cycle and my ammonia seems to not really be going down as quickly as it was. It was going well untill 2 days ago when the ammonia stopped going down so quickly. I read that a low pH can stall the bacterial growth so I tested it and it seems to be around 5.5.

Is it likely that the low pH is stalling the cycle? If so, I have some crushed coral, should I add some to the filter or is there something else I should try?
And if not, what could be causing this, I can post a full diary of readings if need be.

Thanks!

 

[dthoffsett]

The low PH will slow down your cycle, however, cycling will make your ph fluctuate drastically, it's the high amount of ammonia that does it. So it's kind of a catch 22, you need the ammonia to cycle, but the ammonia makes the ph drop, which slows down the cycle. Hopefully the crushed coral will help, just stick with it, it will eventually all work out. You could also try adding a couple of teaspoons of baking soda dissolved in water, it will raise both the hardness and ph, though probably not too noticibly while you're cycling.

 

[DarkEntity]

What was the PH before you started, because after you finish the cycle you will do a massive water change anyway so any changes you make now will be diluted anyway

 

[Gremily]

Tap water looks about pH 7.
This is the second time I've cycled a tank and there was a weird stall towards the end of the first tank I cycled a few days before the end, I'm guessing the same things happened there. It worked out last time so I'll just stick with it for another few days before trying to change anything.
Thanks!