Having trouble keeping PH up

[wwfstyle]

My PH during the day runs at highest 8.1 and at night 7.8. I've tried adding this PH up stuff but not working very well. I would like to have it at 8.2 to 8.4 but having trouble getting there. Any ideas? Rest of my tank is good. Nit 0, Phos. 0, Amonia 0, PH 8.1, Alk 180ppm, Calcium 450. My PH is the only thing that is some what out of wack. But my corals look great do I need to worrie about my PH if they seem to be happy?

 

[cyclops]

What kind of salt are you using? do you have live rock? and what PH buffer are you using? maybe we can pinpoint why your PH falls

 

[wwfstyle]

I have a 75 gallon tank with a 55 sump. I have about 130# of LR 3-4" DSB and I use Instant Salt. Should I try Instant Reef Crystal Salt? My buffer is Seachem marine buffer. A couple of months ago my tank crashed due to hair algae. So I just basically started over and used what I could from the old set up.

 

[ejensen]

Could it be your test kit? I have a PH monitor and my PH at 8.1. Just added Seachem Buffer and it went to 8.3 the first time.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by wwfstyle
I have a 75 gallon tank with a 55 sump. I have about 130# of LR 3-4" DSB and I use Instant Salt. Should I try Instant Reef Crystal Salt? My buffer is Seachem marine buffer. A couple of months ago my tank crashed due to hair algae. So I just basically started over and used what I could from the old set up.
Instant ocean is ok. Try oceanic. I never have to buffer anything. Ph stays at 8.2 all of the time. I don't even bother checking it frequently. About once a month is all and it still reads the same.

 

[barchtruong]

how often do you change water? and the amount?
I use instant ocean also. My PH never dropped below 8.2
I will switch to Reef Crystal in about a month from now.
I do water change weekly at 10% now,
but will cut back to about 5% weekly

 

[sepulatian]

What are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings? Do you have a skimmer? This just hit me. Disolved orgaics in the water are acidic and would lower your ph big time.

 

[barchtruong]

Originally Posted by sepulatian
What are your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate readings? Do you have a skimmer? This just hit me. Disolved orgaics in the water are acidic and would lower your ph big time.
That's true.

 

[wwfstyle]

My skimmer is on the fritze right now. Tomorrow I plan one taking it apart and cleaning it to see if that helps. My water changes I do about 20 - 30 gallons every 3 to 4 weeks.
Nit - 0
phos - 0
Alk - 180ppm
calc - 450
Amonia - 0
PH - 7.9 - 8.1
I'll try doing something with the skimmer tomorrow and see what happens I guess. Also I will most likely change salts on my next order.

 

[sepulatian]

Ph is calculate Logarithmic. Meaning that between every point there in 10x the difference. This means that 8.0 is 10x more acidic than 8.1 . Therefore 7.9 is 20x more acidic than 8.1 that is a HUGE difference! Particularly for fish that came from the ocean where there is such a huge volume of water that nothing ever fluctuates.

 

[wwfstyle]

the 7.9 is mostly the reading at night. But 8.0 is the average. I just want to kick it up during the day to closer 8.3.

 

[sepulatian]

Originally Posted by wwfstyle
the 7.9 is mostly the reading at night. But 8.0 is the average. I just want to kick it up during the day to closer 8.3.
Do you have anything live in there?

 

[wwfstyle]

oh yeah.
Fish :
3 dwarf angels (1 year)
2 clowns (6 months)
2 blennies (4 months)
4 green chromia (6 months)
1 blue linka (1 1/2 yrs)
various clean up crews
corals:
Hammer (6") (1 month)
Speggetti finger leather (10" tall) (1 month)
Torch (only 2 branches) (1 month)
sm. Leather (2 months)
Zoos (2 months)
polyups (2 months)
2 BTA (2 weeks)
a couple shrooms (2 months)

 

[sepulatian]

Has the PH been fluctuating since a little while before the skimmer went on the fritz?

 

[wwfstyle]

Not really..... I did my test as normal but when it started hitting in the 7.9 and lower I was more concerned and was watching it closer. Skimmer gone on fritz just a few days now. Planning on cleaning it tomorrow morning. I want to take it all apart and see what I can do... Hope fully it will help.

 

[lazypinoy]

"you don't have any powerheads? I would have two MaxiJet 900's in a 55. One in each back corner. "Better flow will help raise pH. Not having glass tops will help raise pH. The buffer your adding is a temporary fix and generally not recommended."
ur just tryin to stablize the ph right? i read that from 92protruck on a powerhead thread. do u have a lot of flow in ur tank, and have venting fans for fresh air on ur hood/ canopy? i also read about some guy who said to open a window for fresh air to get to the tank or something. but what would i kno, im stil a newbie!

hope this helps u though.

 

[wwfstyle]

I have 6 maxi jet 1200's plus my return pump from my fuge, so I do have alot of flow. I do have 2 fans in my canapy and have no glass top.

 

[lazypinoy]

hmmm, ph does tend to go down at night for some reason but im sure its nothing to worry about. man ur starting to scare me about my ph goin down too! ahhh!! lol my tank i have 3 seios and 2 vent fans and ph drops to the 8.0-8.1's then 8.3 and 8.4 during the day. hope everything works out.
and 6 maxi-jets?! doesnt that look crowded in ur tank?
here this might help. just put advancedaquaristdotcom
/issues/june2002/chem.htm

 

[hatessushi]

Ocean water pH ranges from 7.8 to 8.3. If yours is dropping to 7.9 at night i woudn't worry about it. Hell, I wish mine were that all the time. The most important thing about pH is that it be as stable as possible. Another thing to look at is ORP or Oxygen Redux Potential. this is the waters ability to hold oxygen. You will find that usually the ORP goes up when pH goes down and vice-versa. An ORP between 300-to 340 is desired but up to 400 is ok.
My pH runs from 7.8 to 7.9 and is stable there with an ORP of around 330. I also run a DeNitator which uses calcium so act as a calcium reactor somewhat. This unit removes oxygen from the water so I have to aerate it to get it to get the pH back up. If I didn't use the unit my pH would be around 8.0 which is fine. The good side is I have no nitrates.

 

[wwfstyle]

I use a denitrate reactor as well. So if I want my ph to go up just use less of the denitrate? I have one of the TALL reactors so I use both phosban and denitrate in it.