How do you raise pH?
- Thread starter zako
- Start date
J
jstdv8
Guest
Just to clarify, I ddint say and didnt mean to test the R/O water by itself, I said test the new water before you put it in your tank meaning the mixed water.
That being said, I did just that myself last night and found that the mixed R/O water with instant ocean and an airstone and power head and heater in the contaner for about 10 hours. I didnt add anything at all. but my alk according to the test kit I have was high just like in my tank (go figure) and my Ph was low at 7.8. also has a reading of .25 of ammonia which is really baffling me. Salinity I mixed a bit high at .026 because it was a bit low in my tank and wanted to raise it a little. temp was 76. and 0 phosphates which I am currently trying to cure in my display tank.
Any suggestions?
On another note, I did add the new water anyways becuase its no worse than the water i have in the tank and it doenst have any phosphates in it. but I checked the phosphates again this morning only to find the same levels.
If I did a 20% water change shouldnt the phosphates go down by 20% if the new water had 0? I can't seem to get it down past .5
That being said, I did just that myself last night and found that the mixed R/O water with instant ocean and an airstone and power head and heater in the contaner for about 10 hours. I didnt add anything at all. but my alk according to the test kit I have was high just like in my tank (go figure) and my Ph was low at 7.8. also has a reading of .25 of ammonia which is really baffling me. Salinity I mixed a bit high at .026 because it was a bit low in my tank and wanted to raise it a little. temp was 76. and 0 phosphates which I am currently trying to cure in my display tank.
Any suggestions?
On another note, I did add the new water anyways becuase its no worse than the water i have in the tank and it doenst have any phosphates in it. but I checked the phosphates again this morning only to find the same levels.
If I did a 20% water change shouldnt the phosphates go down by 20% if the new water had 0? I can't seem to get it down past .5
reefkprz
Active Member
Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3173777
Just to clarify, I ddint say and didnt mean to test the R/O water by itself, I said test the new water before you put it in your tank meaning the mixed water.
That being said, I did just that myself last night and found that the mixed R/O water with instant ocean and an airstone and power head and heater in the contaner for about 10 hours. I didnt add anything at all. but my alk according to the test kit I have was high just like in my tank (go figure) and my Ph was low at 7.8. also has a reading of .25 of ammonia which is really baffling me. Salinity I mixed a bit high at .026 because it was a bit low in my tank and wanted to raise it a little. temp was 76. and 0 phosphates which I am currently trying to cure in my display tank.
Any suggestions?
On another note, I did add the new water anyways becuase its no worse than the water i have in the tank and it doenst have any phosphates in it. but I checked the phosphates again this morning only to find the same levels.
If I did a 20% water change shouldnt the phosphates go down by 20% if the new water had 0? I can't seem to get it down past .5
cheap test kits tend to give false positive readings especially in the lower readings.
http:///forum/post/3173777
Just to clarify, I ddint say and didnt mean to test the R/O water by itself, I said test the new water before you put it in your tank meaning the mixed water.
That being said, I did just that myself last night and found that the mixed R/O water with instant ocean and an airstone and power head and heater in the contaner for about 10 hours. I didnt add anything at all. but my alk according to the test kit I have was high just like in my tank (go figure) and my Ph was low at 7.8. also has a reading of .25 of ammonia which is really baffling me. Salinity I mixed a bit high at .026 because it was a bit low in my tank and wanted to raise it a little. temp was 76. and 0 phosphates which I am currently trying to cure in my display tank.
Any suggestions?
On another note, I did add the new water anyways becuase its no worse than the water i have in the tank and it doenst have any phosphates in it. but I checked the phosphates again this morning only to find the same levels.
If I did a 20% water change shouldnt the phosphates go down by 20% if the new water had 0? I can't seem to get it down past .5
cheap test kits tend to give false positive readings especially in the lower readings.
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3173777
If I did a 20% water change shouldnt the phosphates go down by 20% if the new water had 0? I can't seem to get it down past .5
Phosphates might be being introduced somewhere else, such as your food.
http:///forum/post/3173777
If I did a 20% water change shouldnt the phosphates go down by 20% if the new water had 0? I can't seem to get it down past .5
Phosphates might be being introduced somewhere else, such as your food.
J
jstdv8
Guest
I have a redsea marine master kit that came with the tank that has the alk test in it, and I have a master API kit that doesnt have the alk kit in it. Should I go get another alk kit from a differnet brand and give that a shot?
both the API and the redsea are showing the same PH so Im assuming thats correct.
both the API and the redsea are showing the same PH so Im assuming thats correct.
J
jstdv8
Guest
Originally Posted by SCSInet
http:///forum/post/3173789
Phosphates might be being introduced somewhere else, such as your food.
I havnt added anything or fed anything since the water change. pretty crazy.
I have a bag of phosban in the tank and it brought it from 1 to .5 in the frist 24 hours it was in there but its been three days now and its not gone past .5
Im sure my xenia isnt too happy about that lol
http:///forum/post/3173789
Phosphates might be being introduced somewhere else, such as your food.
I havnt added anything or fed anything since the water change. pretty crazy.
I have a bag of phosban in the tank and it brought it from 1 to .5 in the frist 24 hours it was in there but its been three days now and its not gone past .5
Im sure my xenia isnt too happy about that lol
zako
Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
http:///forum/post/3173775
dont have any lights? are you still cycleing?
if your still setting up/cycleing the tank water changes are a good thing. and would probably help.
if there is nothing in your tank that photo synthsizes adding a light would do nothing at all.
Im not sure if i am cycling or not, i was taking water samples in every other day to the LFS before i got my own test kits and he said i was done cycling my tank is only about 3 weeks old ive bought fish and put them in there and they have all died, there were 4 the last two died in literally 45 seconds so im trying to figure out why they could die so fast and maybe my los pH was it. The LFS also said since right now im only trying to do a fish only tank i didnt need lights.. is that true?
http:///forum/post/3173775
dont have any lights? are you still cycleing?
if your still setting up/cycleing the tank water changes are a good thing. and would probably help.
if there is nothing in your tank that photo synthsizes adding a light would do nothing at all.
Im not sure if i am cycling or not, i was taking water samples in every other day to the LFS before i got my own test kits and he said i was done cycling my tank is only about 3 weeks old ive bought fish and put them in there and they have all died, there were 4 the last two died in literally 45 seconds so im trying to figure out why they could die so fast and maybe my los pH was it. The LFS also said since right now im only trying to do a fish only tank i didnt need lights.. is that true?
zako
Member
Originally Posted by reefkprZ
http:///forum/post/3173825
if your running fish only no you dont need lights. ambient room light is fine.
If your fish are dying in 45 seconds I would say you have a serious problem.
what are your ammonia nitrite and nitrate readings? (from your own test kits)
Amonia was in between 0 - 0.25
Nitrite was 0
Nitrate was 0
There is a CUC in there that are all alive and doing well it seems. i put them in when the LFS first told me i was done cycling.
http:///forum/post/3173825
if your running fish only no you dont need lights. ambient room light is fine.
If your fish are dying in 45 seconds I would say you have a serious problem.
what are your ammonia nitrite and nitrate readings? (from your own test kits)
Amonia was in between 0 - 0.25
Nitrite was 0
Nitrate was 0
There is a CUC in there that are all alive and doing well it seems. i put them in when the LFS first told me i was done cycling.
J
jstdv8
Guest
are there metals like copper or soemthing that could kill his fish that fast?
Wearing jewelry into the tank? I dunno. 45 seconds is crazy fast
Wearing jewelry into the tank? I dunno. 45 seconds is crazy fast
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by Jstdv8
http:///forum/post/3173792
I havnt added anything or fed anything since the water change. pretty crazy.
I have a bag of phosban in the tank and it brought it from 1 to .5 in the frist 24 hours it was in there but its been three days now and its not gone past .5
Im sure my xenia isnt too happy about that lol
Perhaps your phosban has become saturated.
http:///forum/post/3173792
I havnt added anything or fed anything since the water change. pretty crazy.
I have a bag of phosban in the tank and it brought it from 1 to .5 in the frist 24 hours it was in there but its been three days now and its not gone past .5
Im sure my xenia isnt too happy about that lol
Perhaps your phosban has become saturated.
J
jstdv8
Guest
That would suck, 28 bucks for 3 days and .5 reduction. I had phosguard in there before that and it didnt move at all in 4 days
J
jstdv8
Guest
our local fish store had thier own brand for twice as much product for the same price, but i got nervous buying non name brand. I'll check out the other option. Thanks
posiden
Active Member
Well not sure how this got on to trouble shooting someone elses phosphate problem??
Zako,
The amm isn't helping you any. I wouldn't add anything else to the tank till that got processed and hasn't shown back up for a while.
Are you feeding the CUC?
Do you run a skimmer?
With no lights then there isn't any algae in the tank, so there is no photosynthisis going on. No way for the tank to produce any O2. Adding a light with nothing to use it wont help you out. IMO you have a build up of CO2 in your tank. You confirm this with a KH reading of 13dkh in your tank. Don't add anymore buffer to your tank. 8-12 is the target range for the aklinity (KH or DKH). Don't worrie about it being at 13 right now.
Take a cup of your tank water and airate it for about an hour and then check the PH. If it goes up you have found your problem. If it doesn't, then move the test to a garage or next to an open window so you get fresh air from outside into the sample. If that works, then open up your house and get some fresh air in there. If your tank doesn't come up in PH after a few days, Place a skimmer on the tank or put an air stone in there. Some underestamate the need for surface agitaion. Even at that, sometimes you can't get enough from the surface and you need to import it.
Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but it is the only thing that stands out to me right now.
Oh yea, Some salt mixes have a inital high PH reading and will quickly drop off. If you mix up water to test the PH of it, let it sit for a day with agitation. IMO, you should be mixing your salt this way anyway. 24 hour old water is better then just mixed.
On the fish, I can only think of PH shock or them being already poisened by ammonia at the LFS. Maybe a combo of the two. How did you acclimate them?
Zako,
The amm isn't helping you any. I wouldn't add anything else to the tank till that got processed and hasn't shown back up for a while.
Are you feeding the CUC?
Do you run a skimmer?
With no lights then there isn't any algae in the tank, so there is no photosynthisis going on. No way for the tank to produce any O2. Adding a light with nothing to use it wont help you out. IMO you have a build up of CO2 in your tank. You confirm this with a KH reading of 13dkh in your tank. Don't add anymore buffer to your tank. 8-12 is the target range for the aklinity (KH or DKH). Don't worrie about it being at 13 right now.
Take a cup of your tank water and airate it for about an hour and then check the PH. If it goes up you have found your problem. If it doesn't, then move the test to a garage or next to an open window so you get fresh air from outside into the sample. If that works, then open up your house and get some fresh air in there. If your tank doesn't come up in PH after a few days, Place a skimmer on the tank or put an air stone in there. Some underestamate the need for surface agitaion. Even at that, sometimes you can't get enough from the surface and you need to import it.
Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but it is the only thing that stands out to me right now.
Oh yea, Some salt mixes have a inital high PH reading and will quickly drop off. If you mix up water to test the PH of it, let it sit for a day with agitation. IMO, you should be mixing your salt this way anyway. 24 hour old water is better then just mixed.
On the fish, I can only think of PH shock or them being already poisened by ammonia at the LFS. Maybe a combo of the two. How did you acclimate them?
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/3174023
Well not sure how this got on to trouble shooting someone elses phosphate problem??
I guess that would be my fault... sorta helped a thread get hijacked. Pantload of good "moderating" I'm doing...
http:///forum/post/3174023
Well not sure how this got on to trouble shooting someone elses phosphate problem??
I guess that would be my fault... sorta helped a thread get hijacked. Pantload of good "moderating" I'm doing...
geoj
Active Member
Originally Posted by Zako
http:///forum/post/3173342
My pH is 7.7 and need to raise it, any suggestions? The owner of my LFS said disolve a table spoon of Baking soda into water then add it to the tank then wait 24 hours to check the pH..
It sounds like you over shot the dose of bicarbonate (Baking soda). If you still want to learn how to dose buffer get Seachem Reef buffer and put as little in as you can when the alk is low to move the Alkalinity up 1dKH. Keep the alk at 8-10 dKH for a week then test the pH.
If you over shoot the alk say to 13dkh you can do a water change and in a few days when the alk is low put less buffer in.
http:///forum/post/3173342
My pH is 7.7 and need to raise it, any suggestions? The owner of my LFS said disolve a table spoon of Baking soda into water then add it to the tank then wait 24 hours to check the pH..
It sounds like you over shot the dose of bicarbonate (Baking soda). If you still want to learn how to dose buffer get Seachem Reef buffer and put as little in as you can when the alk is low to move the Alkalinity up 1dKH. Keep the alk at 8-10 dKH for a week then test the pH.
If you over shoot the alk say to 13dkh you can do a water change and in a few days when the alk is low put less buffer in.
zako
Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/3174023
Well not sure how this got on to trouble shooting someone elses phosphate problem??
Zako,
The amm isn't helping you any. I wouldn't add anything else to the tank till that got processed and hasn't shown back up for a while.
Are you feeding the CUC?
Do you run a skimmer?
With no lights then there isn't any algae in the tank, so there is no photosynthisis going on. No way for the tank to produce any O2. Adding a light with nothing to use it wont help you out. IMO you have a build up of CO2 in your tank. You confirm this with a KH reading of 13dkh in your tank. Don't add anymore buffer to your tank. 8-12 is the target range for the aklinity (KH or DKH). Don't worrie about it being at 13 right now.
Take a cup of your tank water and airate it for about an hour and then check the PH. If it goes up you have found your problem. If it doesn't, then move the test to a garage or next to an open window so you get fresh air from outside into the sample. If that works, then open up your house and get some fresh air in there. If your tank doesn't come up in PH after a few days, Place a skimmer on the tank or put an air stone in there. Some underestamate the need for surface agitaion. Even at that, sometimes you can't get enough from the surface and you need to import it.
Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but it is the only thing that stands out to me right now.
Oh yea, Some salt mixes have a inital high PH reading and will quickly drop off. If you mix up water to test the PH of it, let it sit for a day with agitation. IMO, you should be mixing your salt this way anyway. 24 hour old water is better then just mixed.
On the fish, I can only think of PH shock or them being already poisened by ammonia at the LFS. Maybe a combo of the two. How did you acclimate them?
Thanks a bunch Posiden you touched on some helpful stuff for me, I haven't added any buffer at all yet because of what people on here thought about them. The CUC had been kinda eating off of the rock thats in my tank, is there something else i should put in there for em? I don't have a protein skimmer yet, am def gonna get one eventually just can't swing one right now.
How would i go about airating a cup of tank water? Would it help surface agitation if i pointed the return of my filter up towards the surface instead of down toward the tank?
Kinda strapped for cash right now and would like to get by with the filter i have... if possible. I've been considering buying a Koralia powerhead 2 to help the flow of water in my tank would that help raise pH in anyway if i used that and my LR to filter and pointed the return to get surface agitation?
http:///forum/post/3174023
Well not sure how this got on to trouble shooting someone elses phosphate problem??
Zako,
The amm isn't helping you any. I wouldn't add anything else to the tank till that got processed and hasn't shown back up for a while.
Are you feeding the CUC?
Do you run a skimmer?
With no lights then there isn't any algae in the tank, so there is no photosynthisis going on. No way for the tank to produce any O2. Adding a light with nothing to use it wont help you out. IMO you have a build up of CO2 in your tank. You confirm this with a KH reading of 13dkh in your tank. Don't add anymore buffer to your tank. 8-12 is the target range for the aklinity (KH or DKH). Don't worrie about it being at 13 right now.
Take a cup of your tank water and airate it for about an hour and then check the PH. If it goes up you have found your problem. If it doesn't, then move the test to a garage or next to an open window so you get fresh air from outside into the sample. If that works, then open up your house and get some fresh air in there. If your tank doesn't come up in PH after a few days, Place a skimmer on the tank or put an air stone in there. Some underestamate the need for surface agitaion. Even at that, sometimes you can't get enough from the surface and you need to import it.
Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but it is the only thing that stands out to me right now.
Oh yea, Some salt mixes have a inital high PH reading and will quickly drop off. If you mix up water to test the PH of it, let it sit for a day with agitation. IMO, you should be mixing your salt this way anyway. 24 hour old water is better then just mixed.
On the fish, I can only think of PH shock or them being already poisened by ammonia at the LFS. Maybe a combo of the two. How did you acclimate them?
Thanks a bunch Posiden you touched on some helpful stuff for me, I haven't added any buffer at all yet because of what people on here thought about them. The CUC had been kinda eating off of the rock thats in my tank, is there something else i should put in there for em? I don't have a protein skimmer yet, am def gonna get one eventually just can't swing one right now.
How would i go about airating a cup of tank water? Would it help surface agitation if i pointed the return of my filter up towards the surface instead of down toward the tank?
Kinda strapped for cash right now and would like to get by with the filter i have... if possible. I've been considering buying a Koralia powerhead 2 to help the flow of water in my tank would that help raise pH in anyway if i used that and my LR to filter and pointed the return to get surface agitation?
zako
Member
Originally Posted by Posiden
http:///forum/post/3174023
On the fish, I can only think of PH shock or them being already poisened by ammonia at the LFS. Maybe a combo of the two. How did you acclimate them?
Oh and I acclimated the last two fish by setting the bag in the tank for 15 minutes then cutting a hole in the top and every 5 minutes added a third a cup of tank water to it till the bag was full then let it sit for another 15 min and netted the fish out and relesed them.
The LFS says he doesnt even go to that extent when adding his fish to his tanks, everyone on here says to use the drip method with is def what im doing next time.
http:///forum/post/3174023
On the fish, I can only think of PH shock or them being already poisened by ammonia at the LFS. Maybe a combo of the two. How did you acclimate them?
Oh and I acclimated the last two fish by setting the bag in the tank for 15 minutes then cutting a hole in the top and every 5 minutes added a third a cup of tank water to it till the bag was full then let it sit for another 15 min and netted the fish out and relesed them.
The LFS says he doesnt even go to that extent when adding his fish to his tanks, everyone on here says to use the drip method with is def what im doing next time.