water problems

Question
I just got a 90 gallon fish tank and am having some problems with it.
The tank has a refugium filtration system with an overflow setup. Today is the second day ive had water in it. I have added the correct amount of chlorine remover and live bacteria. The overflow runs into the bioballs then into carbon particles then through a filter.

My spray heads are under water but seem to be spraying out either a lot of really tiny bubbles or some kind of debris. also I have foam building up in the bioball section of the refugium. The test strips I have say the ph is around 8 or so and the total alkalinity is somewhat high.

Answer
Hi Brad;

Tina told me about you so I came over here to the question pool to see what I could do to help.

The bubbles are pretty normal and the system just needs time to settle down. When you fill a container of any kind with tap water, even just a water glass, there are gasses in the new water that will dissipate over the next few hours. The water was pressurized while in the lines and it is now releasing the gasses to accumulate into larger bubbles. That's why a water glass will eventually have tiny bubbles attached to the inside. Let it run for another day or two and the bubbles should subside.

The pH is really not a problem. Your new fish will adjust to what it tends to be and will thrive in whatever you have. If it really bothers you, add a few chunks of bogwood or driftwood to the tank. It will slowly soften the water and the pH will naturally drop a little slowly and safely.

If you don't have any fish in it yet to provide waste there needs to be a source of "food" for the bacteria you added. Otherwise it will die. You have the perfect opportunity to do a "fishless cycle" here if that's the case. A fishless cycle is so much safer because you aren't subjecting live fish to the serious stresses of the "Break-in Period". Here is more about it, including what to add to the tank to feed the bacteria since there is no fish waste;

http://www.fishprofiles.com/articles/article.aspx?id=31

Let me know if you need more help...

At Your Service;
Chris Robbins