Help needed. extreme low pH high alkalinity high nitrate high phosphate

champion6sigma

champion6sigma

New member
Hello,

once again I'm in need of some assistance and advice and plan of action....

I've been working on trying to read up on issues, especially PH fixing...the article in the stickies is great...

My health has been in some decline and I"m once again getting infusion treatments and injections done...I'm getting a little behind in life (beyond the aquarium) and my fatigue and pain making things harder.

I had a thread (a few going) which I originally posted this data.....I'm hoping people can see this new thread....and offer some advice..


Heres a cut and paste from my last post

I'm having some problems with my coral growth, anemone vitality. Other than those two visual issues, there's no apparent issues with fish, sand, algae, or other problems.

Water parameters have gotten better for my goals set by ska8er.


ALK on march 1 was 12.96. ALK march 30 is 9.9.

Magnesium feb 29 was 1320, on march 15 was 1335, march 19 1350, march 30 today is 1395. I have not added mag supplement in maybe 2 weeks. I'm strictly using my magnesium plus dd2 salt. do a 5 gallon change every week.

calcium on march 1 was 375 , on march 30 is 405. Have not done a single calcium dose yet.

Now for the other issues

phosphate march 1 was 0 now it around .1 (ppm?) on the salifert tests
nitrate march 1 was 0.5 and now is 10....

both tests were truly difficult for me to decipher but those are my best visual choices


Ph is 7.5 currently with lab grade apex probe. I've been reading the low ph sticky weblink...i'm now unsure what my issue is but its narrowed down.

PH in tank does go up during day (as indicated in weblink) and then goes down in nightime. has been highest at 7.72 in last 3 weeks. low of 7.5 (recently) and now (nightime).

webarticle states could be CO2 problem since my alk is still above normal...and ph is chronic low.

could be aeration problem ( or general CO2 tank only issue) or it can be a CO2 issue in the house affecting the tank....


I always have my mp40's on extreme low power....one is mid high but doesn't cause much aeration...other is mid low and does nothing to surface. I have the return nozzle locline thing upward so that it breaks surface but output is slow...( I still don't know my true gph)

Please provide some suggestions to get my corals growing ( or not dying) my anemones thriving....one is bleached , and the which was previously on a rock at bottom part of tank moved to the underside of tank (gets no light) and opens up slightly during day...

Suggestions for lowering nitrates and phosphates.

My thought on that is immediate water change? 5 gallon immediately...and then how soon until next one and how much?

What to do about PH increasing, ALK lowering. I do have mag and calc supplements if I need that in future to increase....(calc is slightly low so i might add some soon unless anyone thinks otherwise)

I also have ph buffer if now is the true time to use it.

Should i replace my powerheads so that one mp40 is truly near surface and getting serious water ripples....plus increase my vectra pump....and maybe increase water movement on the other mp40

Thank you for all your help.

Eric


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Old Yesterday, 11:50 PM #55
champion6sigma
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I don't know if I need to add plants to home or get an erv or hsv system installed so we have better air quality if our air quality really is the culprit. We have 2 adults 1 baby two 10 pounds or less dogs. and aquarium. new home of 3 years age.

Even with mp40's on low and good pump...could i have a tank only CO2 issue strictly from aeration or is there another issue affecting pH to be low....

My ALK was extreme high when I originated my post...after the water changes instructed and buying my own tests, they have consistently lowered.

I added a true clean up crew....many snails crabs, and all algae hair cyano everything is beyond clear. My sand is white...i only get some stuff on glass which magnetic thing takes care of ...my flipper.

Did the CUC completely change my nitrates and phosphates?


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I do have some pictures that I can try to upload showing the lack of coral growth , polyp extension, anemone bleaching, anemone hiding...

I have a feeling now that my pH is so low and the other bad parameters...that coral vitality is in jeopardy...along with anemones....my fish are fairly hardy...so I think they are OK for now...except for the phos nitrate...

I did make water not to long ago.... I have maybe 10 gallons made of saltwater...and i have perhaps 7 gallons of RODI left.....

Tomorrow i'm getting injections into my spine and if i need to make or even buy water....will need help from a family member. next week getting chemotherapy....I feel up to doing a water change today....not sure if I should try and do my whole 10 gallons.....or do 5 today and wait a few days and get help with the next change.

Maybe I'm overthinking the CO2 issues...I can't imagine my home being completely built wrong...i dont read about CO2 issues in home usually causing massive problems for people or pets....we dont have gas appliances or gas anything...

Thank you all for assistance
 
Sorry to hear of your health issues! Hope things go well for you and your health improves soon.

In terms of CO2, I would try increasing the powerheads and/or aeration by making the return nozzle really agitate the surface of the water. Check your pH before, after and during this for a day or so. If you see a big change you know you have Co2 building up that needs off gassing.

Nitrate and phosphate both creeping up - do you have more bioload as your tank is getting more mature? If your nutrients in exceed your nutrient export, the nitrate and phosphate may be slowing building up. That might be what you're seeing.

Corals, nems - I'm not sure how old your tank is or what your set up is. I'll take a look at the links you posted. Nems are pretty sensitive and if there are water parameter issues it may be what is giving them trouble.
 
Hi champ. I have had exactly the same sort of issues as you have been describing. For me I read on here about CO2 scrubbing . Very simple to try you just add the co2 absorbent onto your skimmer intake. Ph problems disappeared over night and as a result a lot of other things seamed to kick in. Lower alk as not dosing so much, for some reason my bio pellets kicked in , not sure if their is a reason for this or simply coincidence . From my point of view the only Downsides have been , you have to change the media regularly , at first this was expensive but I found that the media used in diving rebreathers was much more cost effective. The only other negative is that I also had an algae explosion . Good in the sump, but unfortunately I had imported byropsis into my tank early on , before I had discovered what it was !!! I now know what it is........its a pain in the arse ! Anyway co2 scrubbing Might be worth trying,I've been happy with the results so far.
Hope your health improves soon and good luck with your treatments.
 
I also suffer from low pH issues. Not as low, but I would still like for it to be higher. As far as buffers go, don't use it. It will only temporarily raise your pH and your alk will skyrocket. Since you already think your alk is high (it's since within acceptable range), don't add it.
 
Thanks orqidz. I've been just drained lately, illness brings me down...and unfortunately the treatment is tough too. Sort of like having the flu...that type of fatigue no energy feeling...weakness.

I think I"m going to do some adjustments to the speed and placement of the powerheads. Then ramp up the vectra a little higher.

My bioload consists of 5 small fish. 1 baby clown. 2 green chromis regular adult size. 1 small coral beauty. 1 regular adult dragon goby? one of the sand sifting gobies.

1 tiger tail. 1 sand sea star. 40 or so snails and crabs of various sorts. I haven't counted lately it may have been more initially...even 60 but I do have empty shells on sand...some of the crabs the blue legged ones fight.

Tank was started around thanksgiving.

Blue spot Ill look into the CO2 scrubber.

As of right now i don't have biopellet reactor installed and I'm not dosing anything.

Emily...i had a tough lesson to learn from the ph buffer. I was doing that religiously to maintain ph (i have a huge bottle) and I finally went to the LFS and tested alk and it was 20 plus. This was maybe 2 months ago? I've come a long way in lowering it since then. Ska8er informed of the balance and importance of mainting the right magnesium, alkalinity, and calcium...so that PH stays in check. Now that i"m getting the right magn, calc , and alka is much better, I still have the pH issues...

today its actually showing 7.78 pH right now....slight improvement from yesterday....it will go down at night....

As far as nitrates and phosphates...the 5 gallon water change is the smartest move? and then another 5 maybe in a few days?

Or try to do 10 right now?

I'm thinking the combo of nitrates and phosphates and pH is affecting the anemones greatly. I also have two leather corals which don't look good. They are supposed to be fairly ez to maintain but they do not open or extend and colors are not great.

My other long standing problem is figuring out best colors to use...brightness and intensity on the radion pro...and of course my flow....of the mp40's....

Everyone says the leathers like a lot of light and flow....

but I don't know if they are stressed if more light is good or if i should also during these water changes and next week or two...just lower my lights intensity and maybe put more blue in mix...make it dimmer. I've never had a par meter to check what i'm getting on levels....
 
I'm thinking about getting one of those exhaust systems which implants outside air into home and exhausts air in the home...they r cheap. Expensive part of those things is install.
 
5d9c7fbbbe23923de0e7035bdf53f86d.jpg
 
I guess I'll just do a 5 gallon change today. And alter the flow. We open back door a lot for the 2 dogs and we leave ajar. If we leave open too long house smells like the outdoors. Wife lights candles occasionally but I can put an end to that if that making things worse. Hopefully the better flow from tank will aerate things better
 
Went to kalkwasser link. I remember hearing about that on brs videos. Seems like a great product . Is that recommended for the small amt of coral I have ?
 
Have you calibrated your apex probe or verified your low ph reading with another tester? Just to make sure your not chasing a low ph problem that's not actually there.
 
Agree with josh on the probe calibration forgot to ask this, I had this aswell. Mine was the other way though. I was 8.2 ,8.2, 8.2 happy happy happy. Then I did a test and my ph was actually 7.7 . At the same time I had issues with my nem also. That is how I ended up with the CO2 scrubbing. If you have got a ph problem. The scrubber is realy quick and easy to try just get some media off the internet. Put it in any sort of container, pop bottle anything and attach a hose to your skimmer air intake. If your ph rises you know it is your co2 levels you need to sort out. From this you have many options, but at least you know what your fixing. I feel like some sort of co2 pusher now, but I struggled with the exact same thing for around 6 months baught all sorts of thing, new pumps , air stones in the sump, piped in air from outside, all with little to no effect, I wish I had tried the scrubbing sooner.
 
Probe was calibrated twice in last 4 months....I will need to order another set of the pH liquids..

pH buffer i used (ignorant use) always got my pH to 8.2 ish or 8.3 but then dropped within day or two. I was doing that almost daily thinking "I'm not hurting my tank"...experience...mistakes are the strongest teachers.

Bad news is that I'm pretty sore and beat up from todays treatment. Good news is that my pH has risen to 7.75 ish...right now at night. I got up to 7.8 during the day! No april fools jokes here.

Interesting about the sump and air stones blue spot...I know you said it proved to be not effective...but I wonder how much the sump contributes to negative CO2 compared to tank which in my case should have lots of movement with 3 powerful jets. My sump on other hand is as tepid as can be. Its not extremely dirty...but its not spotless on sump bottom. I use filter socks and change them weekly. I have a protein skimmer that is oversize for tank slightly....

3 chamber design. The first chamber which receives DT water has the skimmer and my probes and the filter sock...the middle is just a heater...and the last is my vectra return.

I've been thinking about getting one of the blocks that BRS sells to stick in the sump to help out with water quality....need to figure out what size to get....it never occurred to me that there could be a sump issue, I know there is no livestock in sump...maybe I need to put some live plants somehow in it...I do have an LED lamp but i need to change it out because its too big. Its got one superwhite setting and one low blue led setting.

I've got to read up more on the scrubbing and find a place to order.
 
You could try running an airline from your skimmer to outside and see if that gives you a boost in ph.
 
ljosh said:
You could try running an airline from your skimmer to outside and see if that gives you a boost in ph.
Click to expand...
How would that be connected?
champion6sigma said:
Probe was calibrated twice in last 4 months....I will need to order another set of the pH liquids..

pH buffer i used (ignorant use) always got my pH to 8.2 ish or 8.3 but then dropped within day or two. I was doing that almost daily thinking "I'm not hurting my tank"...experience...mistakes are the strongest teachers.

Bad news is that I'm pretty sore and beat up from todays treatment. Good news is that my pH has risen to 7.75 ish...right now at night. I got up to 7.8 during the day! No april fools jokes here.

Interesting about the sump and air stones blue spot...I know you said it proved to be not effective...but I wonder how much the sump contributes to negative CO2 compared to tank which in my case should have lots of movement with 3 powerful jets. My sump on other hand is as tepid as can be. Its not extremely dirty...but its not spotless on sump bottom. I use filter socks and change them weekly. I have a protein skimmer that is oversize for tank slightly....

3 chamber design. The first chamber which receives DT water has the skimmer and my probes and the filter sock...the middle is just a heater...and the last is my vectra return.

I've been thinking about getting one of the blocks that BRS sells to stick in the sump to help out with water quality....need to figure out what size to get....it never occurred to me that there could be a sump issue, I know there is no livestock in sump...maybe I need to put some live plants somehow in it...I do have an LED lamp but i need to change it out because its too big. Its got one superwhite setting and one low blue led setting.

I've got to read up more on the scrubbing and find a place to order.
Click to expand...
 
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