PH too Low

[malx]

So here's my situation. In my 23ish gallon tank my PH is swinging from about 8.2 to 7.67 at night. Tankmates are fine but I can tell that my Carpet Anemone does not like it and I feel it's going to wear him down over time. Alk is about 8. I tried buffing the tank with a little soda ash but after PH goes right back to where it was literally in hours and gets back on its swing cycle like clockwork.

So, I tried getting an airstone I put in the sump to come on when PH drops below 8 and shuts off when the PH goes back above 8.1 (Apex Controller) It literally made no difference at all. My main display down the hallway fluctuates from about 8.2 to 8.

I also tried opening the balcony door next to the tank for a few hours, no difference, and my A/C always has the fan running, No change as well.

This system only has two small clownfish. Where the hell is all this CO2 coming from at night?




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[Xandernfs]

I wouldn't chase numbers. I think I would let it be and the majority of your livestock should acclimate. I used to be worried about pH since mine goes from 7.6-8.0. All my coral look good (SPS & LPS).

 

[malx]

I wouldn't chase numbers. I think I would let it be and the majority of your livestock should acclimate. I used to be worried about pH since mine goes from 7.6-8.0. All my coral look good (SPS & LPS).

Alright thanks for the tip. It makes me feel a bit more comfortable you are keeping SPS at 7.6.

 

[JohnZena]

If you aren't doing so,turn a light on at night in your sump and turn it off during the day. This will minimize your night time PH swing.

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[Uncle99]

Yup, this number do not chase.
Mine has been 7.8 forever.
You can raise it by opening a window and letting in some fresh air and ensure your flow is rippling the surface so carbon dioxide is being expelled and replaced with oxygen.
Some people even run a hose from outside to their skimmer.
The buffers are useless...

 

[malx]

Yup, this number do not chase.
Mine has been 7.8 forever.
You can raise it by opening a window and letting in some fresh air and ensure your flow is rippling the surface so carbon dioxide is being expelled and replaced with oxygen.
Some people even run a hose from outside to their skimmer.
The buffers are useless...

I already tried all of this.


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[Joe0813]

mine is usually 7.8 at night and 8.2 during the day

 

[Tripod1404]

so carbon dioxide is being expelled and replaced with oxygen.
.

Oxygen has nothing to do with pH and CO2 and O2 dont replace each other.

 

[Uncle99]

CO2 tends to depress Ph no?
Did in my chemistry class...

 

[Uncle99]

Oxygen has nothing to do with pH and CO2 and O2 dont replace each other.

Correct not replace, exchange, poor use of words.

I any event, many hobbists have been able to increase PH marginally by lowering carbon dioxide in the room in which the tank is, or by drawing in fresh air from outside, seems like an exchange of gases thing to me, but Perhaps, only works in my set up...

 

[malx]

CO2 tends to depress Ph no?
Did in my chemistry class...

Adding co2 to the water makes the water more acidic and will drop the PH. Hence why at night when photosynthesis stops and there are no plants to leverage co2 to convert light to energy and produce oxygen, ph drops because the other animals (ie fish) are adding co2 to the water.


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[malx]

So in short. Tripod is wrong.


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[Anemone]

Oxygen has nothing to do with pH and CO2 and O2 dont replace each other.

Yeah, care to clarify? CO2 level in the water has everything to do with pH, and higher CO2 is often correlated with a lower O2 level.

Kevin

 

[Tripod1404]

PH too Low

CO2 tends to depress Ph no?
Did in my chemistry class...

So in short. Tripod is wrong.

Yeah, care to clarify? CO2 level in the water has everything to do with pH, and higher CO2 is often correlated with a lower O2 level.

Kevin

No I am not wrong. CO2 has a lot to do with pH. But O2 has absolutely nothing to do with it. They are separate pools. Having more or less O2 will not reduce or increase the amount of CO2 dissolved in water and therefore does not change pH. You can fill your cars gas tank, that doesn't reduce the number of passengers that can fit into the car. In the same way, ambient air can have 99% O2 and 1% CO2 or have 20% O2 and 1% CO2, in both cases water in equilibrium with those "œairs" will essentially have the same pH.

Most aquarium already run at saturated O2 levels, increasing the O2 will not change pH. Reducing CO2 will reduce pH. Again to reduce pH, you need to reduce CO2, it doesn't matter what is the level of O2.

If O2 had something to do with pH, running ozone reactors would increase pH. Do they? no. Simple as that.

And "higher CO2 is often correlated with a lower O2 level" is a misconception. Atmospheric O2 level is 21%. If it drops below 19.5%, you will experience serious side effects. It essentially never drops below ~20% unless there is something burning, natural gas leak, carbon monoxide or etc., or if you live in a mine. CO2 just accumulates in closed spaces because its a heavier gas, so the amount of CO2 increase but its abundance is very low compared to O2 (21% vs 0.04%). Increasing CO2 has almost no effect on overall composition of the air. To have 1% CO2, you need to have 25 folds increase and it rarely increases more than 2.5-3 folds ( 0.1% or 1000ppm) in closed spaces. So there isn't really a coloration that is worth considering, it is 21% O2 vs 20.9% O2.

 

[Uncle99]

Up here in the north houses are made quite tight for efficiency and with some pets and some kids and no windows open for 6 months, carbon dioxide can build up more than say California.

So for me, lowering carbon dioxide in the air as well as great surface mix added .2 to my normal ph.

True, does not work everywhere, some see no difference at all.

 

[oldhead]

I just watched this this weekend. Maybe you can look into this since you have an apex.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t69huBU8xyM

 

[Daddi0]

You can dose kalk to raise PH

 

[dtapke]

you guys are all wrong. Carbonic Acid reduces PH.


hows your Calcium, magnesium and everything else?

 

[Anemone]

Reducing CO2 will reduce pH. Again to reduce pH, you need to reduce CO2, it doesn't matter what is the level of O2.

Sorry, I thought reducing CO2 in the water column INCREASED pH?

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/

Kevin

 

[Uncle99]

Does in my DT