Help!!! Ph Is Low!!!!

tdog7879

tdog7879

Member
Can anybody tell me why my ph is not going up? I did a water change on friday and ph was 7.9-8.1 so i add some seachem reef buffer and it brought it up to 8.1 -8.2. My alk.3.6 mg and my calcium is at 400-420....never check for mag. would that effect the ph if the mag. was low? Has anybody ever use Seachem product called Balance?. They say that is will raise your PH without it effecting your calcium or alk. PLEASE REPLY BACK
THANK tdog7879
 
aquaguy24

aquaguy24

Active Member
wat kind of salt are u using..i have had ph problems staying at 7.9 or 8 when i use to buy ready made saltwater from my lfs and they said they use kent buffer or something..but ever since i changed over to mixing my own water using Oceanic salt and i never had that problem agian..
 
tdog7879

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by aquaguy24
http:///forum/post/2742562
wat kind of salt are u using..i have had ph problems staying at 7.9 or 8 when i use to buy ready made saltwater from my lfs and they said they use kent buffer or something..but ever since i changed over to mixing my own water using Oceanic salt and i never had that problem agian..
I get my water from my LFS. I have tested the water and the ph is at 8.2. I never had this problem with my ph it normaly stays at 8.1 to 8.3
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Try opening a window or 2 and add some more flow to the surface.Could be insufficient gas exchange.And if you have a top on your tank open it up.
 
awilson500

awilson500

Member
What percentage of your water did you change?
I'm having the same problem right now, but I was only doing 10% water changes once a week. I just did a 50% water change today and I'm going to continue to do that once a month on top of the 10% once a week and hopefully it will pull it self up. As far as adding something to your tank????? I'm not sure. I have heard that baking soda will raise pH. You can read on my form called "PH problem".
I hope that helps you and good luck!
 
tdog7879

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by Veni Vidi Vici
http:///forum/post/2742571
Try opening a window or 2 and add some more flow to the surface.Could be insufficient gas exchange.And if you have a top on your tank open it up.
I already have a power head pointed upwards and a fan on it.
 
tdog7879

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by awilson500
http:///forum/post/2742576
What percentage of your water did you change?
I'm having the same problem right now, but I was only doing 10% water changes once a week. I just did a 50% water change today and I'm going to continue to do that once a month on top of the 10% once a week and hopefully it will pull it self up. As far as adding something to your tank????? I'm not sure. I have heard that baking soda will raise pH. You can read on my form called "PH problem".
I hope that helps you and good luck!

Never would ever add baking soda. there is a product made by seachem called balance that does not effect the alk. or the cal. and just rasise the ph.
 
awilson500

awilson500

Member
that is would I was thinking too, but someone with alot of swf experience suggested it to me. Trust me I felt the same way.
 
aquaguy24

aquaguy24

Active Member
Originally Posted by awilson500
http:///forum/post/2742576
What percentage of your water did you change?
I'm having the same problem right now, but I was only doing 10% water changes once a week. I just did a 50% water change today and I'm going to continue to do that once a month on top of the 10% once a week and hopefully it will pull it self up. As far as adding something to your tank????? I'm not sure. I have heard that baking soda will raise pH. You can read on my form called "PH problem".
I hope that helps you and good luck!

not sure but isn't doing 50% water changes cause unstable levels..small water changes but more freguently is a better plan of attack..but im not a pro so i could be wrong..
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Originally Posted by awilson500
http:///forum/post/2742589
that is would I was thinking too, but someone with alot of swf experience suggested it to me. Trust me I felt the same way.
Baking Soda is a alk supplement.Baked or unbaked depending on your PH needs.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by tdog7879
http:///forum/post/2742580
Never would ever add baking soda. there is a product made by seachem called balance that does not effect the alk. or the cal. and just rasise the ph.
TDog,
There are a lot of products that will raise PH but I advise against using any of them. PH is just an indicator of how well the tank is running. Adding a chemical to artificially raise your PH doesn't mean that you've fixed the problem, it means you've put your hands over your eyes so you just can't see the problem anymore.
Low PH only has three causes;
1 - Low Alkalinity (your ALK is just fine)
2 - Excess CO2
3 - metabolic acids in the water column (something is rotting).
I suggest you concentrate on #2 and #3 and stop focussing on PH. Find the cause, fix it, and your PH will rise naturally.
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member
Good advice from Bang Guy,The easyest way to test for excessive CO2 is to take some tank water in a cup outside and let it sit for a 1/2 hour or so and then test it.If that isnt it ,then as Bang Guy has suggested it most likely #3.
 
tdog7879

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2742623
TDog,
There are a lot of products that will raise PH but I advise against using any of them. PH is just and indicator of how well the tank is running. Adding a chemical to artificially raise your PH doesn't mean that you've fixed the problem, it means you've put your hands over your eyes so you just can't see the problem anymore.
Low PH only has three causes;
1 - Low Alkalinity (your ALK is just fine)
2 - Excess CO2
3 - metabolic acids in the water column (something is rotting).
I suggest you concentrate on #2 and #3 and stop focussing on PH. Find the cause, fix it, and your PH will rise naturally.
What would be excess C02?? what would cause this?? how do i check this? How would i check if something is rotting? The amonia levels are at 0
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by tdog7879
http:///forum/post/2742892
What would be excess C02?? what would cause this?? how do i check this? How would i check if something is rotting? The amonia levels are at 0

Make sure you have enough waterflow and that your skimmer is working 100%. As suggested above, it is possible that the room the tank is in just has a high CO2 level but this is more common in winter months.
Check to make sure detritus isn't accumulating anywhere, no clogged filter pads, and again, plenty of waterflow.
Regular waterchages are also important to remove accumulated organic matter from the water column.
 
tdog7879

tdog7879

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
http:///forum/post/2743021
Make sure you have enough waterflow and that your skimmer is working 100%. As suggested above, it is possible that the room the tank is in just has a high CO2 level but this is more common in winter months.
Check to make sure detritus isn't accumulating anywhere, no clogged filter pads, and again, plenty of waterflow.
Regular waterchages are also important to remove accumulated organic matter from the water column.
My lights sit right in top of my tank. There is a lot of open spots where i have some hang on equp. I also have a fan thats cut on when then light cut on...It is a desk fan that blows on top of the light fixture. I also got a maxjet mod PH 1200 ghp and a korllia #2 600 gph,auqa clear HOB 300 gph, prizm pro deluxe 300 gph skimmer (i know but it make a about a have a cup of skimmate every 5 days) Also i got wet dry system with a 700 gph pump on it. I also clean filter pad every other day except auqa clear sponge once a week. I keep my AC on never open windows not even when it gets cool outside when it does get cold goes right to heat. Not sure if that has anything to do with what is going on with my PH?
 
veni vidi vici

veni vidi vici

Active Member

Originally Posted by tdog7879
http:///forum/post/2743127
I keep my AC on never open windows not even when it gets cool outside when it does get cold goes right to heat. Not sure if that has anything to do with what is going on with my PH?
Take some tank water outside for GODS sake and test it already.
 
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