Low pH in New tank

[ibrat82]

Hi Guys

So since day one when I started to cycle my Red Sea reefer 450 my ph was anywhere from 7.6-7.9. Now that my tank has cycled it's now between 7.66-7.8. I cycled this tank with no live rock or live sand. I have 2 clowns in there now.

I have 2 mp40's running along with an aquamaxx q series skimmer, gfo and carbon reactor. Ph is measured using a calibrated probe in my apex system.

Fish are doing fine since getting them 3 days ago but the low ph is concerning me. The tank is in the basement of the house and I'm thinking it could be lack of fresh air. I'm in Canada so opening up a window in the winter isn't the ideal method. What else can I do to raise my tanks ph?

 

[thegrun]

Run a line from your skimmer air intake to outside the house. To be sure the problem is too much CO2 in the basement, test a sample inside, then take it outside for 1/2 hour and read it again. If you see much of a jump in pH that's your problem.

 

[ibrat82]

if i were to run a 1/2 tube from skimmer to outside the house that would be a length of aprrox 20 ft. at that length will it still suck enough air to run the skimmer ok?

Run a line from your skimmer air intake to outside the house. To be sure the problem is too much CO2 in the basement, test a sample inside, then take it outside for 1/2 hour and read it again. If you see much of a jump in pH that's your problem.

 

[ibrat82]

So I opened up some windows in the basement and noticed that compared to yesterday's reading at the same time the ph did go up from 7.61 to 7.71. So some fresh air did work. However it's still not in the 7.8-8.3 range I keep reading that is ideal. Should I use a ph buffer product or wait a couple days and we if it the ph starts to rise.

 

[thegrun]

The problem with using pH buffers on a regular basis is that you are going to raise your alkalinity too high. Run a 1" PVC line from outside to close to the tank and then size down when you get close to the skimmer for the fresh air line.