BUFFER Does Not Raise PH!!!!

[bang guy]

It will not hurt them at this point to let the ALK naturally drop to 3.0 - 3.5 Meq/L.
I doubt that you have a PH problem IMO. Can you take two readings - one in the morning and one in the evening just before the lights go out.
That will give a more acurate picture.
My guess is that you need better circulation or a better skimmer.

 

[lillibirdy]

Interesting! That is a relief. OK, I will take two readings, what ae you thinking I will see? And why? Is this how I will tell if it is a circulation or skimmmer problem. That would be so much easier than the chemical merry go round and stressing about it so much. Thank you.
KathyW

 

[bang guy]

I think you'll see 7.9 in the am and 8.2 in the pm. There is absolutely nothing wrong with readings like that. There is no reason to try to change if this is what you find.
PH is typically an indication of CO2 level in the water.
First thing in the morning the fish & other animals become active and produce more CO2 but the algae has not yet started photosynthesis. As a result the algae is still producing CO2 and the animals start producing more CO2 as their activity level increases. This lowers PH first thing in the morning.

 

[dragonboy]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
Alkalinity so raising Alkalinity a LOT will actually raise PH, it's just bad practice and raising ALK too much could cause precipitation which will actually result in a lowered PH.
So alkalinity will raise PH if you add a lot but then it will lower PH if its precipitating or did you mean calcium will raise PH? Just a little confuse on that part.

 

[bang guy]

The bottom line: Don't use additives to alter the PH.
Maintain Ca and ALK at the desired levels. If PH is low then look for a reason why it's low and fix the problem.

 

[pkgrif]

My top off water (r/o) ph is 7.0, I use a buffer to get the ph up. Is that correct or what would you suggest :notsure:

 

[kdfrosty]

Another reason that I dont use any buffers/additives at all.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by pkgrif
My top off water (r/o) ph is 7.0, I use a buffer to get the ph up. Is that correct or what would you suggest :notsure:
No that will eventually cause an imbalance between Calcium and Alkalinity. There is no reason to alter the PH of your topoff water.

 

[agoutihead]

ok let me jump in on this because i too have pretty much had ph problems since the begining... and have just reacently leanred about alk and calcium.
does calcium affect ph in anyways?
i never looked at it from that aspect.
i have probably always had high calcium even since the begining because i was using tap water and oceanic... it was around 700... and i always had the pretty snow storm.
now someone said if your ph is low add carbonates... and if your ph is high add bicarbonates..... so can you add borates for anything?
over the past two months ive been slowly but surly raising my calcium by keeping my dkh at 12 and recently adding ro/di water, i actually just got a machine about a week ago so i am good to go from here on out.
i will also be switching to tropic marin pro reef.... mainly because i have read that this salt helps stabalize ph more
also i have recently switched over to 2 150w hqi mh bulbs.... will this affect my ph in anyways?
i was thinking that maybe the photosynthic animals will start to produce more since there is more intense lighting there fore affecting the chemical balance of the water more so than with my pc lighting??

 

[1journeyman]

For what's worth, here is my humble opinion:
Get a good protein skimmer to aerate your water.
Make sure you have adequate water flow and plenty of surface movement.
I like to make sure I had a strong breeze (lot's of fans) clearing out the air in my canopy.
Live rock and a deep sand bed of aragonite help keep the balance
No cover over your tank!
Consistant water changes. Make sure you are checking the pH of the mix you are using

 

[agoutihead]

well i cant put a skimmer on my tank... its a long story but i just cant
but i do have 110 lbs of live rock in a 55 gallon with a 3 or 4 inch sand bed for filtration
so that tends to work pretty good so far.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by agoutihead
so can you add borates for anything?
Borates will increas Alkalinity without raising Carbonates. I don't recommend this approach because it lowers the Carbonate available to corals and makes it difficult to test for Carbonate levels (you must test for Borate and subtract from ALK to determine Carbonate level).

 

[hybridfish]

So I shouldn't use a buffer but I should supplement ALK and Calcium and keep track of them. What products would all of you suggest to supplement ALK and Calcium. Or better yet, what do you use in your aquarium to keep them stable. What should my test results be before I decide to dose my tank.

 

[bang guy]

Two part additives like B-Ionic or Kent Tech are good for smaller tanks. For tank with a very low calcium load even regular water changes can be enough.
I use Limewater aka Kalkwasser. When the tank was young and the coral load was small I used B-Ionic.
For a moderate coral load try to maintain Calcium between 400ppm and 450ppm and Alkalimity between 3.0Meq/L and 4.0Meq/l. I keep my calcium between 400 & 420 and ALK around 3.0Meq/L. I can get away with the lower numbers because I have a fairly low coral load for the volume of water.