will a water change help?I use ro/di can this be the issue?ph staying at7.8.....
Water changes won't help, and RO/DI water is not a cause of low pH:
Reverse Osmosis/Deionization Systems to Purify Tap Water for Reef Aquaria
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rhf/index.htm
from it:
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-05/rhf/index.php#8
Final Effluent pH
Aside from the issues discussed above concerning the effluentââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s pH when the DI resin becomes depleted, the final pH coming out of an RO/DI system should not significantly concern reef aquarists. Many aquarists with low pH problems have asked, for example, if their aquariumââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s low pH may be caused by their replacing evaporated water with RO/DI water that they measure to have a pH below 7. In short, the answer is no, this is not a cause of low pH nor is it something to be generally concerned about, for the following reasons:
1. The pH of totally pure water is around 7 (with the exact value depending on temperature). As carbon dioxide from the atmosphere enters the water, the pH drops into the 6ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s and even into the 5ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s, depending on the amount of CO2. At saturation with the level of CO2 in normal (outside) air, the pH would be about 5.66. Indoor air often has even more CO2, and the pH can drop a bit lower, into the 5ââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s. Consequently, the pH of highly purified water coming from an RO/DI unit is expected to be in the pH 5-7 range.
2. The pH of highly purified water is not accurately measured by test kits, or by pH meters. There are several different reasons for this, including the fact that highly purified water has very little buffering capacity, so its pH is easily changed. Even the acidity or basicity of a pH test kitââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s indicator dye is enough to alter pure waterââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s measured pH. As for pH meters, the probes themselves do not function well in the very low ionic strength of pure freshwater, and trace impurities on them can swing the pH around quite a bit.
3. The pH of the combination of two solutions does not necessarily reflect the average (not even a weighted average) of their two pH values. The final pH of a mixture may actually not even be between the pHââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s of the two solutions when combined. Consequently, adding pH 7 pure water to pH 8.2 seawater may not even result in a pH below 8.2, but rather might be higher than 8.2 (for complex reasons relating to the acidity of bicarbonate in seawater vs. freshwater).
