I know this is a stupid question... but

[krshlln300]

Ok so I have a new tank up and cycling, for this tank I used lr from a fellow reefer. In previous tanks all params had been stable throughout the cycle period. Now in this tank I having issues with ph. Everything is progressing normally as cycles do however I was curious as to what could be leading to the ph being around 7.65 to 7.81. I have crushed coral and aragonite in my sump and caribseas hawaiin black live sand as the display substrate. I also have dosed some kalk and have no ability yet to run a calc reactor. In my biocube I have dosed nothing and have just done regular water changes and used just aragonite sand from caribsea and the ph with that tank is always stable at 8.1 to 8.4. My cal hovers between 420 and 440 but my top off contains small amounts of either kalk or liquid calcium. all my corals and everything are doing great in the biocube but for whatever reason the ph is wayyy different in the cycling tank. Is this normal? will it go up post cycle? Thanks. and again I know this is probably a really stupid question but I figured i'd ask anyway.

 

[Enyo]

If you dont have stony or lots of LPS you dont have to worry about calcium too much.

For both PH and calcium, your salt mix should take care of everything in a nano.

 

[krshlln300]

The nano is fine its the new tank that is cycling to move everything over to that is not. I can't get the ph in the new tank (around 37 gal) above 7.6. I used the exact same methods as I did in my biocube but can't figure out why the biocube is doing so well but the params in the cycling tank are not. its just confusing me. Is the fact that it is still in the nitrite stage the culprit of low ph?

 

[turbo21]

Are your lights on in the cycling tank? You will have a lower ph when the lights are out

 

[krshlln300]

The lights are on but theres no major plant/ coralline growth yet. Could this be the problem?

 

[turbo21]

i would let the cycle continue and test again near the end

 

[mikesin]

I am not sure how the "cycle" effects pH, it may. Are the two tanks in the same room? I have an issue in our house with carbon dioxide which does lower pH. I would suggest taking a sample in a clean container of the low pH water, set it outside with an air stone & pump to agitate it a bit. re-check the pH in an hour or so - see what it reads.

 

[bmiller1234]

I would assume poor aeration. Are you running a skimmer on system? Do you have power heads turbulating the surface?

Also calcium doesn't effect ph. Alkalinity does. But hopefully you already understand thebalance of all 3 alk cal and mag to keep everything stable and in check.

 

[krshlln300]

both tanks right next to each other same ro water and salt, one is cycling the other is 7 months old or so. I know cal does not affect ph and I know the relationship between alk cal and mag as well as alk and ph, I just can't figure out why my ph is so low and staying steady at 7.73 to 7.81 its weird. I do have powerheads blowing the surface around but its not doing much, havent put the skimmer in yet will be doing that next week when I get it. Maybe its just a matter of aeration, I may try to put an air pump on it til the skimmer comes to see if that does anything at all. I just can't figure out why my one tank is perfect and the other is way off when I used the same stuff for both, oh well I'm sure i'll figure something out. lol.

 

[krshlln300]

skimmer came yesterday don't have it up yet but as of last night the ph was staying stable now between 7.8 and 7.6 so at the very least I now have stability with it, now just have to get the lights up and skimmer on and finish cycling and hopefully get the stability to be around 8.2 to 8.4 we shall see. I will also post pics soon maybe start a diff. thread for it.

 

[mikesin]

by chance, have you tested mag - cal and alk in this tank?

 

[krshlln300]

Here are todays params,

Alk 13 (still not sure if this is correct but after 3 tests and a local pet store all said this)
Calc 440
Ph 8.0
phophates .025
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
nitrates barely registering but in between 0 and the next amount up on the chart.
temp is aroun 74 right now because my heater is underrated, no livestock yet, just finished cycling.
Also my slim skim from hydor is not going to work due to me not measuring correctly and being 1 1/2 inches too short for the minimum water level in my sump, it apparently needs to be at 16" has not seen water yet at all, brand new and I can't use it! will be getting a larger heater hopefully soon.

 

[mikesin]

So the pH is slowly rising, thats good news. The skimmer deal stinks, any idea what your going to get for a skimmer?

 

[krshlln300]

no idea but I am just trying to find a job for now lol the skimmer will have to wait lol. I am unsure if i will be keeping the slim skim. I may try to sell it. The worst part is that the slim skim is an awesome skimmer, ive seen it in action and heard great things about it, unfortunately I just can't use it yet.

 

[cloakerpoked]

pH in each system can run a little different also. I know some people who can't get their pH above 8, and I ran a tank that was very successful and I couldn't pull the pH below 8.5. As long as you stabilize somewhere in the 7.8-8.2 range, I honestly wouldn't worry about it too much.

 

[krshlln300]

ya It is staying pretty stable now at around 7.86 to 7.94. Haven't done anything to it so I'm not sure what is goin on lol. Now all I need to do is somehow try and get money for a decent heater and find a job so I can pay the electric bill lol, I hate not having any experience, I just graduated with a bachelors and I can't seem to find anything. oh well something is bound to turn up sometime. Had 1 interview with Bayer, still waitin to hear back.