Newbie question about PH/ALK
- Thread starter ovenmitt
- Start date
ovenmitt
Member
I see another thread going about Alk and Calc. This is bothering me since we added SPS's and I want to keep the Alk between 9-11 but when we do a water changed and she adds the Super buffer to get the PH where it needs to be it raises the Alk along with it. I then have to stress till it comes back down I guess either on its own or by be adding calcium. Surely there has to be a way to raise the PH without raising the Alk by 6 points at the same time.
trigger11
Member
Water chemistry in a marine environment is a strange animal.
First, what is your PH at? It may be just fine. For the most part PH is only a small piece of the puzzle and usually is not a factor. If you are between 7.9 and 8.5 I would not try to change the PH. As you describe when you do that it takes everything out of whack for a bit. Since you are keeping SPS corals you really will want to monitor the alkalinity and calcium levels. If you have those in the correct balance the PH will be good.
Here is a good little information site.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm
First, what is your PH at? It may be just fine. For the most part PH is only a small piece of the puzzle and usually is not a factor. If you are between 7.9 and 8.5 I would not try to change the PH. As you describe when you do that it takes everything out of whack for a bit. Since you are keeping SPS corals you really will want to monitor the alkalinity and calcium levels. If you have those in the correct balance the PH will be good.
Here is a good little information site.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm