Low pH.. recommended fixes?

[markang]

The tanks' been up for about a month and a half, and ever since the beginning it's measuring at 7.8 pH..

I read that during cycling pH might be a bit lower but it hasn't changed.
Thoughts on how to improve it to closer to 8.. 8.2ish?

55 gal tank, 50lb of LR, a few fishes..

Thanks!

 

[IPisces]

Randy's recipe for dosing 2 part calc/alk has a recipe for making an additive for dozing your tank to raize or lower your ph.
This is the link to it.
http://www.reeffrontiers.com/forums/f72/idiots-guide-making-dosing-2-part-27207/

 

[Sasquatch]

first you must identify the reason Why its low, you need to test and post your parameters, you need to do the oxygenation test of your tank water, it may be as simple as adding a fan to the sump or display and opening a window, simply adding something to raise ph would be a mistake with possible bad results

 

[T1tan360]

if there is an enclosed canopy and enclosed sump....+1 try opening the doors and puting a stand up fan blowing air behind the stand also +1 to opening up the room a bit to allow fresh air in. when i use to live in california during the summer i had to leave all the doors and windows closed in the house because of the a/c 110 deg weather!!!all i did was add a a hose to my skimmers air intake and put one of these in line with it Amazon.com: Moeller Disposable In-Line Fuel Filter (5/16" Barbs): Sports & Outdoors. and put the hose out the a small crack in the window.

you can also take a glass of water and put an air stone in it for a little bit and see if your ph goes up.

 

[markang]

Thanks for the suggestions. I do have an enclosed canopy. I'll try opening the canopy door and blowing a fan behind the stand (am i understanding right?)

Sasquatch mentioned a 'oxygenation test'. what is that?

Thanks!

 

[Sasquatch]

lol, its total BS just checking to see if you were reading, so this "test" is very simple, a cup of tank water in a clean glass, test ph level right away, take glass outside the house and stir for a few minutes with a spoon, test water,,, if PH has gone up you 99% have a surplus of C02 as the outside air has driven off the C02 in the glass, either high levels of Co2 in the house or very poor gas exchange at water surface.

 

[markang]

I'll try this highly scientific and sophisticated test! I may need to call on my Chemistry PhD buddy to help though...

 

[Sasquatch]

just send Boomer $20 for the sake of legitimacy lol

 

[Mr. Limpid]

First if your tank is only a month and half old it’s still very new and a lot of changes are still going on, plus 7.8 isn't consider low just at the low end of 7.8 - 8.3 (these are exceptable range). Also PH is effect by calcium and alkalinity in your tank you'll need to check these b4 you start adding buffers. Also consider time of day you take reading this will flocculate during time of day (try taking reading early, mid and late) and average them out. If you have a sump you could add some cheto or an algae scrubber, these will increase PH naturally.

 

[Boomer]

The $20 has arrived

90 % of all pH issues are high indoor CO[SUB]2[/SUB]. It goes like this, you breath in the room, have AC or furnaces on and all release CO[SUB]2[/SUB] into inside air making it much higher than it should be unless one has a HVAC system in their house. In short, your house is like a balloon and is filling with CO[SUB]2[/SUB] and that pressure crated by that CO[SUB]2[/SUB] pushes CO[SUB]2[/SUB] into your reef tank water lowering the pH.

Examples:
CO[SUB]2[/SUB] + H[SUB]2[/SUB]O --> H[SUB]2[/SUB]CO[SUB]3[/SUB] or CO[SUB]2[/SUB] + CO3-- --> HCO[SUB]3[/SUB]- = Low pH

On the other hand, on some occasions, the same reactions take place even if there is not high room air CO[SUB]2[/SUB]. This is from over feeding or poor gas exchange at the surface or a combo of the two.

It is not just an outside test but a outside test and inside room air test. When you vigorously aerate water the CO[SUB]2[/SUB] leaves and those reactions are in reverse and the pH rises.


Test steps:

First, What is the pH, Alk, temp and Sanity of the tank, so I can calculate x, y and z. ?

1. Take a tank sample and aerate the crap out of it for 4 hrs in the tank room to see how much the pH rises.
2. Take a sample out side and do the same.

Some theoretical example tests : pH 8.2, S= 35 ppt, T = 25C, Alk, 2.25 meq / l


Example 1
Tank pH 7.8 + # 1 and the pH goes up to 7.9. We have slight tank CO[SUB]2[/SUB] issue
Tank pH 7.8 + #2 and the pH goes up to 8.2. We have a high room air CO[SUB]2[/SUB] mostly.

Example 2
Tank pH 7.8 + # 1 and the pH stays at 7.8. We have high room air CO[SUB]2[/SUB] only
Tank pH 7.8 + #2 and the pH goes up to 8.2. We have a high room air CO[SUB]2[/SUB] only.

Example 3
Tank pH 7.8 + # 1 and the pH goes to 8.2. We have high tank CO[SUB]2[/SUB] only
Tank pH 7.8 + # 2 and the pH goes to 8.2. We have high tank CO[SUB]2[/SUB] only.

These tests have nothing to do with oxygenation, it is just aeration. Aeration does two things lowers CO[SUB]2[/SUB] and raise O[SUB]2[/SUB] **usually** but not always.

 

[jrgilles]

Yea, what boomer said (and the rest of them)

If excess CO2 doesn't appear to be the issue, you can dose Kalk (Calcium Hydroxide.) That will add calcium to the water (not really needed if no corals) but will also increase the pH (from the -OH group.) Many different ways to go about adding it, but for the most part you want to premix, let settle, and don't add in the solid that settles out. Also, don't want to add it fast or all at once, some sort of slow addition is needed. People go about it many different ways