What's with the low PH?

[Tangweed]

Over the past two weeks my PH has been around 7.60 - 7.95. My corals are not happy I can't figure it out

SGC - 1.025
dKH - 9
CAL - 450
MAG - 1200
NO3 - 0
PO 4 - 0
Temp 75 - 80

I have a fuge with cheato and light, I run it opposite my tank lights.
My tank is in my finished basement with AC and dehumidifier.
WHAT I'M I MISSING???????

 

[Shane Hoffman]

You been doin water changes regularly???

 

[nebraskareef]

excess CO2.

Take some water outside and aerate it for an hour, then re-test PH. If it rises, It's that nice finished basement that's causing the problem.

In all fun, "Join the club".

Let us know what you find out...

 

[Tangweed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15441117#post15441117 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Shane Hoffman
You been doin water changes regularly???

Last one was three weeks ago... 15 gal. My PH has never been at 8.2 for the last three months. It was always low but now it's a little to low. I was wondering if the AC has something to do with it?

 

[Tangweed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15441142#post15441142 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nebraskareef
excess CO2.

Take some water outside and aerate it for an hour, then re-test PH. If it rises, It's that nice finished basement that's causing the problem.

In all fun, "Join the club".

Let us know what you find out...

That's what I was thinking If that's the cause, how do I fix it?

What's the name of the club... COOL FINISHED BASEMENT WITH LOW PH?

 

[nebraskareef]

If it's the cause, there are several solutions.

1- get more fresh air into the basement. If you can open a window, even for a few hours a day down there, it can really help. Using one of those fans that are designed to fit into windows, blow fresh air INTO the basement will "turbo charge" the effect....It's hot though, so in all honesty, it's not much of a solution because we enjoy our nice, A/C cooled basements!

2- add an exhaust fan. If possible, you can add a smaller exhaust fan to pull air out of the basement and into the existing ductwork in the house. This likely won't make too much of a difference if the house is pretty tight. If you've got any leaky window/door gaps you might be suprised how much this can help

3- Start dosing kalk at night or with top off. If you aren't using kalk already, START. It can really help boost the PH.

Another thing I just thought about....How old are the bulbs? Old bulbs = low par = low photsynthesis = low PH. That might be an issue here as well.

Hard to say, lots of things could be causing it. As Nebraska is a pretty crap state to live in, terrible summers, and terrible winters - there is not much time in the year where the house is "open" so we always have excess co2 in the house. I've come to realize that a low ph isn't always a problem - but a ph that isn't very stable is.

I'd try to keep it at 7.8 at a minimum though.

It's late, and I'm rambling. Let me know how your aeration test goes.

 

[ulua56]

your house is probably trapping CO2, a product of our super efficient sealed homes, people breathing, pets breathing, plants breathing, wife cooking Mexican food( oh wait that is methane, lol). , try venting your home in the morning, it worked for me.

 

[nebraskareef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15441151#post15441151 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tangweed
Last one was three weeks ago... 15 gal. My PH has never been at 8.2 for the last three months. It was always low but now it's a little to low. I was wondering if the AC has something to do with it?

Seriously now....How old are your bulbs?

 

[Tangweed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15441218#post15441218 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nebraskareef
If it's the cause, there are several solutions.

1- get more fresh air into the basement. If you can open a window, even for a few hours a day down there, it can really help. Using one of those fans that are designed to fit into windows, blow fresh air INTO the basement will "turbo charge" the effect....It's hot though, so in all honesty, it's not much of a solution because we enjoy our nice, A/C cooled basements!

2- add an exhaust fan. If possible, you can add a smaller exhaust fan to pull air out of the basement and into the existing ductwork in the house. This likely won't make too much of a difference if the house is pretty tight. If you've got any leaky window/door gaps you might be suprised how much this can help

3- Start dosing kalk at night or with top off. If you aren't using kalk already, START. It can really help boost the PH.

Another thing I just thought about....How old are the bulbs? Old bulbs = low par = low photsynthesis = low PH. That might be an issue here as well.

Hard to say, lots of things could be causing it. As Nebraska is a pretty crap state to live in, terrible summers, and terrible winters - there is not much time in the year where the house is "open" so we always have excess co2 in the house. I've come to realize that a low ph isn't always a problem - but a ph that isn't very stable is.

I'd try to keep it at 7.8 at a minimum though.

It's late, and I'm rambling. Let me know how your aeration test goes.

Will do :thumbsup:

Bulbs are about three months old. I have Kalk and thought about adding it to my top off. I think that's the path I will take.

 

[Tangweed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15441219#post15441219 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ulua56
your house is probably trapping CO2, a product of our super efficient sealed homes, people breathing, pets breathing, plants breathing, wife cooking Mexican food( oh wait that is methane, lol). , try venting your home in the morning, it worked for me.

Not my house I can feel the cold breeze if I sit in front of a window

 

[nebraskareef]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15441251#post15441251 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Tangweed
Not my house I can feel the cold breeze if I sit in front of a window

This is good news man! Excess co2 is a giant PITA to deal with. If it's something else thats causing the low ph, it can be fixed chemically. I think Randy is out for awhile, but you could try posting in the chemistry forum if the kalk doesn't work out for you.

Take it slow - I honestly don't think the low ph is what's causing the decline in the corals. If it were me, I would do a large (1/3 total volume) water change - (keep the water close to the tank area to keep the ph similar) and see if it helps the corals.

In the long run though, Kalk really does work, but like i said, take it slow - don't go putting a bunch of vinegar in the water with it to "super saturate" it - 1 teaspoon per gallon of water should be fine to start. Overdosing of kalk is not good - we don't want "christmas in july" in the tank! July is almost over, so if you are going to go overboard, at least wait until the 1st

 

[Tangweed]

I have a gallon jug that I used to add kalk with air line tubing. How much do you think I should add in the jug? I'm going to make it now.

 

[Tangweed]

I'll do a normal dose and take from there.

 

[nebraskareef]

Sorry man, I went to sleep last night and missed this post.

Sounds good to me, do you evaporate more than a gallon a day?

At this point I would dose a half gallon a day and test your levels. You don't want to increase them too much too soon.

 

[Tangweed]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15443745#post15443745 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nebraskareef
Sorry man, I went to sleep last night and missed this post.

Sounds good to me, do you evaporate more than a gallon a day?

At this point I would dose a half gallon a day and test your levels. You don't want to increase them too much too soon.

Yes... one and half to two gallons daily.

 

[Nereaga]

I have heard of people drawing air for their skimmer from the outside?

Might help...

 

[ser_renely]

yeah I drew air from out side.

air pump can do that too.

Kalk fixed my problem. Worry more about your alk, if its in check, then the rest should fall into place, which yours seems to be.

Do you have an AC on?

 

[blackthunda77]

connect the air hose from your skimmer to the outside somewhere if possible. it will draw in fresh air from the outside.

 

[nebraskareef]

The air-hose outside to the skimmer thing is a stretching it a-bit IME. Some skimmers may even suffer if you have this 50' hose leading outside...

 

[patsfan1130]

How are you testing your PH? I'm almost willing to bet it is a testing error. 9 times out of 10 a PH that low is.