PH is low...

[invertinoob]

i"m having problems keeping my ph above 8 right now. it seems to go up to about 8.1 when i do a water change but within a day or two it is down to 7.8 at mid day. i ordered an alkalinity calcium magnesium test kit 2 days ago along with some chemipure elite. my sand bed has also started getting a regular diatom bloom which disappears at night. i suspect that it is my alkalinity that is low. if it is, what kind of buffers do you guys recommend to help raise it? is there any other way beside chemicals to put it back to where it needs to be?

i tested a two days ago

Ph 7.8-8
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate-15
mag-?
calcium-?
alk-?

 

[A. Grandis]

I would test Ca,Mg, alk first and go from there...

Grandis.

 

[invertinoob]

yeah i'm going to as soon as my test kits come in. i placed an order online 2 nights ago, so they should be here in a few days. i have been doing frequent water changes, like two a week, and the diatoms are still blooming and ph is still low. my tank has only been running for like 6 months now. i feel like now that it is starting to mature, and my live stock is going up, my natural ion buffer is starting to deplete (alk) i use carbon and a marine buffer already (instant ocean) but it doesn;t really seem to be helping.

 

[rich850]

A few small water changes every few days will help bring things back in line I have done small water changes one on day one one on day 4 etc just in case things are way out of line but like grandis said you will know which direction to go once your test kits come in but in the mean time a couple water changes would benefit you

 

[rich850]

Well guess I was typing that as you were diatoms still blooming at 6 months? maybe high phosphates? Ph is something I think a lot of people get hung up on too much alk, calcium, mag , and phosphates I pay attention to more than ph

 

[invertinoob]

i was reading a tank of the month article, and it was a 110 sps dominated tank. the guy was talking about using exclusively distilled water (ro only) which he stated is low in alk. alk is directly linked to ph btw. if your tank is higher in alk your ph will stabilize. the diatoms are only on my sand bed. i recently switched to distilled/ro water, so if i lowered the alkalinity in the tank dont you guys think that there might be a direct correlation to the bloom and unstable ph? my ph has never dropped lower than 8.2 btw.

 

[invertinoob]

Well guess I was typing that as you were diatoms still blooming at 6 months? maybe high phosphates? Ph is something I think a lot of people get hung up on too much alk, calcium, mag , and phosphates I pay attention to more than ph

my lfs said my phosphates where low. i dont remember what though.

 

[bertoni]

If the alkalinity level is okay, the cause of the low pH is carbon dioxide. 7.8 isn't that bad for a house with the windows shut. There are some Tank of the Month winners that run at that level.

 

[hypnoj]

If the alkalinity level is okay, the cause of the low pH is carbon dioxide. 7.8 isn't that bad for a house with the windows shut. There are some Tank of the Month winners that run at that level.

I agree. 7.8 is common in lots of tanks. If you're doing frequent water changes, ie at least once a week, then just let your tank mature. If everything in it looks ok, then don't chase pH numbers. If you're that worried, you can always add a little buffer to your ATO, but be careful, you don't want to add too much and have your Alk climb too high.

 

[invertinoob]

ok here are my test results. this is after adding a full dose bag to my sump of chemi pure elite. mind you i am still getting diatoms on my sand bed and very small amounts of hair algae on a couple spots in my tank. results are all recorded using api test kits except for the kh/alk.

calcium- 480
phosphates-.25
ph-7.8-8
nitrate- 5-10
kh/alk- 7.3/2.62

any suggestions tips? maybe need more flow?

 

[SaltWater226]

open up the windows and doors next to your tank and make sure there is no lid on the tank.
too much co2 in the air drives the ph down.

just air out the house see your ph rise those few points u want

 

[invertinoob]

that is what i figured.

 

[reeftivo]

ok here are my test results. this is after adding a full dose bag to my sump of chemi pure elite. mind you i am still getting diatoms on my sand bed and very small amounts of hair algae on a couple spots in my tank. results are all recorded using api test kits except for the kh/alk.

calcium- 480
phosphates-.25
ph-7.8-8
nitrate- 5-10
kh/alk- 7.3/2.62

any suggestions tips? maybe need more flow?

more flow at the surface may help.


also, .25 PO4 is pretty high. Unless you forgot a 0 in front of the 25.

 

[disc1]

i was reading a tank of the month article, and it was a 110 sps dominated tank. the guy was talking about using exclusively distilled water (ro only) which he stated is low in alk. alk is directly linked to ph btw. if your tank is higher in alk your ph will stabilize. the diatoms are only on my sand bed. i recently switched to distilled/ro water, so if i lowered the alkalinity in the tank dont you guys think that there might be a direct correlation to the bloom and unstable ph? my ph has never dropped lower than 8.2 btw.

They're right, distilled or RO water should have ZERO alkalinity. But that's not where the alkalinity in your tank comes from. The alk in your tank comes from the salt mix and then anything you add (baking soda, buffers, kalk, etc.) to add alkalinity.

We should be starting with pure water with nothing in it. All the alkalinity and calcium and everything else we add ourselves.

 

[Brownic]

Do you dose vodka or vinegar? If so your ph will be on lower side, depends on the amount of dosing.

 

[invertinoob]

not dosing. just use the recommended amount of chemipure elite for my size tank. i have read about doing an indoor out door aeration test to see if the effects of low carbon in my tank come from lack of substantial flow in my tank. if that is the case, easy fix, more flow. if not i will have to start considering alternatives or just ignore it all together.

 

[bertoni]

7.8 is a fairly common pH level for a tank in a house with the windows shut. Many Tank of the Month winners run at that level. It's fine. The phosphate level is very high, if accurate. I might add a GFO reactor.

 

[invertinoob]

7.8 is a fairly common pH level for a tank in a house with the windows shut. Many Tank of the Month winners run at that level. It's fine. The phosphate level is very high, if accurate. I might add a GFO reactor.

yeah .25 is the reading i get off of an api test kit. i do not have a lot of corals in my tank and the ones that i have are super hearty. is it possible that i could reduce phosphates by adding more flow. i know that my tank flow is kinda poor. i have a 56 gallon corner and it has about 800 gph of flow

 

[Reef Doctor]

My Dad has a 75gal tank. His pH was always around 7.8 as well. Not a huge deal, but he tested his RO water. Found out it was ph 5.2 right out of the RO system. He adds some pH buffer now to his ATO, and his pH sits about 8.2 now

 

[bertoni]

The pH of RO/DI water is meaningless since it contains no buffering, and hobbyist equipment generally can't measure it. Once added to the tank, the pH shifts to that of the tank.