Low pH

L

lbaskball

Guest
Originally Posted by Adairable
:thinking: My pH is at like 7.8. Is that too low? How do I fix it?
btw I have a 14g biocube, everything is stock so no special stuff and I have LS and 20+lbs of LR
Thanks for any input....

A Low Ph was what I was fighting in my 14gal as well. Here is what you should do. First check your calcium level. Make sure it is around 420. If its high, then thats not good, (do a water change). I am guessing your calcium is high. Next, check your alkalinity. If it is low (which im guessing) you can safely raise your alkalinity by adding kalk or ph buffer. Be careful. Do this very slowly until your Alkalinity is at the leve it should be. Once you have that balanced along with calcium, your ph should go up to 8.3 during the day and drop to 8.2 at night. Some tanks drop to 7.8 at nightand reach 8.0 during the day.
Lastly, make sure your ph tester is accurate. I found out mine wasnt that accurate the hard way. Remember adding kalk/ph buffer does not necesarily raise the ph (it is written for marketing purposes ) it may raise it temporarily and then cause your water to evaporate toofast and your calcium to shoot down.
 
L

lbaskball

Guest
Oh by the way, as bonebrake mentioned, having good air circulation will help your ph be stable and even raise it a little.
 
adairable

adairable

Member
Originally Posted by lbaskball
A Low Ph was what I was fighting in my 14gal as well. Here is what you should do. First check your calcium level. Make sure it is around 420. If its high, then thats not good, (do a water change). I am guessing your calcium is high. Next, check your alkalinity. If it is low (which im guessing) you can safely raise your alkalinity by adding kalk or ph buffer. Be careful. Do this very slowly until your Alkalinity is at the leve it should be. Once you have that balanced along with calcium, your ph should go up to 8.3 during the day and drop to 8.2 at night. Some tanks drop to 7.8 at nightand reach 8.0 during the day.
Lastly, make sure your ph tester is accurate. I found out mine wasnt that accurate the hard way. Remember adding kalk/ph buffer does not necesarily raise the ph (it is written for marketing purposes ) it may raise it temporarily and then cause your water to evaporate toofast and your calcium to shoot down.
So i changed the time I was doing my testing one day. Usually I test in the evening when I get off work or school. Well i got out early the other day so I tested when I got home and the pH was 8.0-8.2
So i think the timing of me testing has something to do with it.... :notsure:
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
cal and alk directly affect your ph
when dosing for cal your alk will lower
when buffering for alk your cal will lower
they both effect each other and your ph.
 
adairable

adairable

Member
Originally Posted by larryndana
yes, your ph will fluctuate all day.
wow there is so much to know....silly pH trying to scare me!
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
oh and remember water changes are a quick fix. and always premix your saltwater for 24hours before using.
 
adairable

adairable

Member
Originally Posted by larryndana
oh and remember water changes are a quick fix. and always premix your saltwater for 24hours before using.
I usually premix it and all, but how do I get it to the same temp?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by Adairable
I usually premix it and all, but how do I get it to the same temp?
A heater and a powerhead.
For mature tanks, low PH almost always is just excess CO2 in the water. Remove the CO2 through gas exchange and the PH will climb.
Limewater (Kalkwasser) works because it reacts with CO2 and produces CO3 (Carbonate) which raised the PH. Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to add a chemical to raise PH unless Alkalinity is actually low. To know if it's low you need to test it.
 
adairable

adairable

Member
Originally Posted by Bang Guy
A heater and a powerhead.
For mature tanks, low PH almost always is just excess CO2 in the water. Remove the CO2 through gas exchange and the PH will climb.
Limewater (Kalkwasser) works because it reacts with CO2 and produces CO3 (Carbonate) which raised the PH. Generally speaking, it's a bad idea to add a chemical to raise PH unless Alkalinity is actually low. To know if it's low you need to test it.
mine is definately not falling into the 'mature' tank name.....
and as far as premixing saltwater I usually do it in gallons and I don't think a heater in there would work!?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by Adairable
mine is definately not falling into the 'mature' tank name.....
and as far as premixing saltwater I usually do it in gallons and I don't think a heater in there would work!?
If I had a 14 gallon cube I'd probably be doing 5 gallon water changes.
Your maintenance may be different and that's fine.
If it's a small quantity of water can you set it on top of your lights to warm it? For a small volume it doesn't have to be right on. The larger the water change the more "perfect" you have to be though.
 
larryndana

larryndana

Active Member
go anywhere they sell paint and pick up a five gallon bucket. then get a small heater and powerhead and your set. this set up will be fine for a small tank.
 
adairable

adairable

Member
Originally Posted by larryndana
go anywhere they sell paint and pick up a five gallon bucket. then get a small heater and powerhead and your set. this set up will be fine for a small tank.
ok thanks a ton guys!!! both of you that have been helping me....
I usually do about a gallon every week...my tank is not actually 14g is closer to 11 so it is very easy for me to just do a gallon every week ya know?
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
If you're only changing a gallon at a time as long as the salinity is the same it will be fine. You should only temperature match if you are going to make a really large water change 25% or more. If your actual volume is 11 gallons once you factor in the displacement of live rock and sand it is probably closer to 8 or 9 gallons so a 1 gallon change every week would be perfect.
:joy:
 
adairable

adairable

Member
Originally Posted by Bonebrake
If you're only changing a gallon at a time as long as the salinity is the same it will be fine. You should only temperature match if you are going to make a really large water change 25% or more. If your actual volume is 11 gallons once you factor in the displacement of live rock and sand it is probably closer to 8 or 9 gallons so a 1 gallon change every week would be perfect.
:joy:
See thats what i thought!!! Yay!
Bonebrake do you have a biocube too? I forgot....
 
trainfever

trainfever

Active Member
I started with a 12 gallon JBJ nano cube, I did a 1 gallon water change every week and that was fine. I then upgraded to a 45 and now in the process of upgrading to a 90. If interested in Xenia, I have a few frags to get rid of.
Email me at trainfever at comcast dot net.
 
bonebrake

bonebrake

Active Member
Originally Posted by Adairable
Bonebrake do you have a biocube too? I forgot....
I have a JBJ 24 DX nano cube (Actual volume 20 gal.) and a JBJ 12 DX nano cube (Actual volume 10 gal.). My 24 is 18 months old and my 12 is 12 months old.
:joy:
 
adairable

adairable

Member
Originally Posted by Bonebrake
I have a JBJ 24 DX nano cube (Actual volume 20 gal.) and a JBJ 12 DX nano cube (Actual volume 10 gal.). My 24 is 18 months old and my 12 is 12 months old.
:joy:
Oh ok I see... i want another one :thinking: maybe for christmas....
I want one for my office....like a really small one with a pompom crab in it
 
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