how long to stabilize pH?

[pulleygirl]

okay, so i found out that my pH is low. i got the Kent Marine aquarium pH buffer. my pH was at 7.7 and i have been testing it and adding the buffer every night, but i was wondering about how long it will take for my pH to rise....how long does this stuff take to work?

thanks!

 

[mojoreef]

Hi Pulleygirl and welcome to Reef Frontiers.

Your ph will have slight swings from lighted periods to when its dark in the tank. other then that swing your ph should be stable. If not then thier must be something that is taking a bit out of your ph. DO you have the ability to test for alkalinity?? it is your buffer for PH, also if you had a calcium test and magnesium to.

let us know


Mike

 

[pulleygirl]

i think that my lacking in doing consistant water changes had a lot to do with it....this buffer is a marine aquarium pH buffer, and i have test kits for alkalinity and pH. i was just wondering if the buffer would take days, weeks, or months to work. i have begun doing weekly 10% water changes, and i am adding the buffer and testing my pH and alkalinity daily. I do not have a calcium test, or magnesium, but i add reef success Calcium + 3 to my tank weekly.

thanks!

 

[wrightme43]

Welcome to Reef Frontiers!! We are glad you are here. Please keep coming back. For me frequent water changes are the best insurance possible. If and this is only a possibility you have been adding calcium and it has gotten pretty high in relation to your dkh As you add buffer back in it will just bond to the calcium and fall out of solution. This is only a possibilty. Do you live near any one this forum. If so maybe they will come by and test your CA till you can get a kit. To give you a good answer on how long it will take, and how much buffer to add. We will need to know DKH, CA, and MG. This is experince from when I was very new. Be careful with buffer adding too much at one time can cause a snowstorm of calcium carbonate (I think thats how you say it) in your tank and just make a big mess. How big is your tank? Do you have a skimmer? Tell us as much info as you can come up with. The more these people know the more they can be of service to you. HTH Steve

 

[pulleygirl]

i have a 50-tall, and i do have a prizm protein skimmer running on my tank. i have about 6 or 7 fish, and a nice reef going. i am not sure if anyone lives near me...but i can always take my water to the LFS and have them test for whatever i need. (or i can buy test kits). i do not know the DKH, CA, or MG, so that sucks ugh....just when i think i'm doing great and learning a lot....something totally new comes up!!!!!!!!!!!!!! lol

 

[wrightme43]

Your doing fine, take it easy and dont stress. Your fish and coral have adapted to your tank now. Slowly change it back to where it needs to be. Have your Ca, Alk, and Mg checked and post it. For real fun go to the reef chemistry forum and start reading posts by boomer, colin, mike, nikki, mojo, and others. It will just blow you away. I have learned so much here. I love this place. HTH Steve

 

[pulleygirl]

thanks, i will have those things tested tomorrow or sometime soon (school is starting this week so who knows!)

 

[pulleygirl]

what is DKH?

 

[pulleygirl]

okay i tested my calcium, and it is somewhere between 460 and 480. i was unable to test for the others....but if i do i will keep you posted.

 

[wrightme43]

Ok dkh is measurement of carbonate hardness or alkinlinty. If you calcium is between 460 and 480 it is in my opinion high. Read the post on coraline algae while you are here. It said earlier that you had a test kit for kh it is measured in dkh or meq/l sometimes it is a test strip and will just say very hard or some such thing. In my opinion that is not accurate enough for reef keeping. If you can tell us what the kh is measured in dkh or meq/l we can tell you if it is out of whack. If you can get a balance of ca, kh, and mg going it can be kept up with water changes and small additions of ca, buffer, and mg as needed. My experince is that with out a test kit, and a plan to keep each of these near a certain level it is best not to add supplements. If you keep doing or maybe increase the size of your water changes it may help to bring it back in line. Are you using oceanic salt? I have been reading that it has too much mag, for the amount of buffer at 1.026 salinity. What is your salinity? what type of salt do you use? HTH Steve

 

[pulleygirl]

i do use oceanic salt, only because it was on major sale at the LFS (8.99 a containter!). i used to use this red sea salt. i will see if i can get tests for mag and dkh tomorrow or wed. should i keep adding the buffer? you say i should stop adding stuff (like calcium, i assume)? ugh....this is crazy!!!!

 

[wrightme43]

LOL I understand, This stuff is so much fun, WHEN IT WORKS!. When its a little off I obsesse over it until I get it figured out. Yes If I knew how to link a thread I would so you could see what people are learning and forming opinions on in regard to oceanic salt. I am going to go and find it and tell you the title so you can search for it and read it. K? Steve

 

[pulleygirl]

thank you!

 

[wrightme43]

Ok go to the reef chemistry forum, select the thread titled magnesium and go to page 3 of it. read post number 44 and boomers response. Heck if you have time read the whole thing. LOL It is pretty neat. I use instant ocean plain. I test and add what I think I need. This is again only my opinion and others have different ones.