Ph keeps dropping

[cfmx]

Why can I not get my pH to 8.4 w/out it dropping the next day??
We have a pH meter that shows when the lights are on during the day the pH is 8.0 - 8.1 then at night it drops to 7.8 - 7.9.
I added NatuReef Alk increaser and got the pH up to 8.3 while the lights where on. Then then next day the pH is back at 8.0. What am I missing. I would like to keep it around 8.4 during the day?
Thanks!

 

[drives300]

Give us some more info. What is your Alkalinity. What salt do you use. Read reef chemistry forum . If alkalinity is ok then problem is usually you need more fresh air in house. House may have excess co2 in it. My pH was 8- 8,1 so I drip kalkwasser now and it helps keep it around 8.2-8.3
Hope this helps

Anthony

 

[Ah64av8tor]

the Ph is going to drop at night because all the plant life stops consuming co2 when the lights are out.....thats why it is better to drip Kalk at night so there is less impact on Ph

 

[cfmx]

We drip Reef Former at night which is like Kalk. I will add a little more ReefFormer to the dripper tonight. We normally don't add the full dose because it makes our Cal go way up so we have been dosing at 1/3 the amount. I will try 1/2 the amount tonight and next couple of nights and keep testing to see if that helps.
I did take some tank water & air pump outside and the pH went up to 8.3.
We never had a problem w/ pH before but maybe it is because now I'm home everyday all day with 2 little ones. Maybe we need more fresh air in the house.
My tank values as of today are:
pH 8.0 (w/ lights on)
nitrates 0
nitrites 0
phos 0
cal 420
Alk 8.0 dKH
Mag 1350
Corals and Fish seem to be ok. But I want to get the pH back to where it normally is 8.3 w/ lights on.

 

[drives300]

I think here in florida where houses are tightly sealed its tuff to get pH where we like it. I keep my house closed up w/ AC 24/7/ 365 so with kalk as my top off I am able to maintain 8.1- 8.2.
I wouldnt worry to much about the calcium as it can go up to 500 with no ill effects. keep doing what your doing and you should be Ok.

 

[lookout888]

I have the same problem in my appt. I try to air out the appt 2 times a week. Helps but still does not stop the problem. Another method is if your tank is near an outside wall run your skimmer air line out side (use a carbon filter on it) that way your tank always gets fresh air.

Mike

 

[stevemc]

Mike do you mean the air pump outside? That would eliminate some noise too.

 

[lookout888]

If your skimmer has an air pump you could do that. But you will have to worry about power and the weather. You would have to make some type of enclosure to keep water out and free flowing air in. Also you don’t want any wasp nests in there. I would also suggest a carbon filter. You can make one out of pvc very easily and for like $5..

Mike

 

[cfmx]

That's a good thought. We have a Protein skimmer that sucks air in (w/out pump). But I could make the hose longer and run it out side on our porch. Only be about 3 - 4 feet of hose. We are planning on moving our Chiller out there one of these days and could add another little hole for the air line.

 

[lookout888]

Would not hurt to try. You may want to try to use a larger size hose. That way you skimmer does not have to work harder to pull air through the longer hose.

Mike

 

[MoCha920]

how is your magnesium

 

[Agu]

I used to have the same problem with pH dropping.

Sold the pinpoint pH monitor and the problem went away. The corals didn't seem to care, and once I got rid of the monitor I didn't care either.

 

[Aquarist007]

Re: Ph keeps dropping

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10140152#post10140152 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cfmx
Why can I not get my pH to 8.4 w/out it dropping the next day??
We have a pH meter that shows when the lights are on during the day the pH is 8.0 - 8.1 then at night it drops to 7.8 - 7.9.
I added NatuReef Alk increaser and got the pH up to 8.3 while the lights where on. Then then next day the pH is back at 8.0. What am I missing. I would like to keep it around 8.4 during the day?
Thanks!

I would not worry about that pH level or that amount of swing.
pH usually goes down with an increase in carbon dioxide.
Air out the room will help but you can also make sure you have power heads stirring up the upper surface of your tank and add a refugium to your system with lighting reversed from the daytime--this will help with the nocturnal shift.