? on ph UP ...

[saltwaterkitty]

I was in ***** today looking for ph UP and there was only for freshwater ... does that matter? they had a testing kit for fresh in with it which i don't need since i have ph tester in my master kit but are the chemicals still the same?
thank you!
kat

 

[cajonez]

Majority of people on here will tell you not to use chemicals to fix pH. It may get your pH where it should be, but it will just hide the reason the pH is wrong in the first place. It took me a couple months before my pH would go above 7.8. i think the problem was that I was using glass tops and didn't have anything to break the surface tension on the water surface. Since then I have taken off half of the glass and positioned my filter return to break the surface water. Now i'm steady at 8.2-8.4
hope that helps

 

[saltwaterkitty]

Thank you for your reply!
The tank has only been running for almost 3 days ... I bought it from someone who had it running and they broke it down at 1pm, I had it back up and running by 11pm ... I did a freshwater wash of the sand and the rock was transported under water ... all of my other levels have been 0 but ph is at 7.8 ... I have one fish in there who was a surprise in the LR bucket and he is doing great. I used the saltwater that the seller gave me as well as some fresh ro/di saltwater he mixed in case I needed it.
Any thoughts??
Kat

 

[louti]

Test your alkalinity and calcium. When are where they should be, the pH usually falls into place. Also, as stated above, make sure you have good aeration in the tank because high CO2 levels will hold the pH down.

 

[geoj]

They have changed pH-up since I last took a look at it. You don’t want to use a buffer that is for fresh water in salt they would be different and not work right. Sounds like you will need more info before you will be successful at dosing a buffer. Alkalinity or dKh is what you need to test to know when and if you can add a buffer to move the pH up.

 

[cajonez]

After only 3 days I wouldn't worry about the pH just yet. Even though it was an established tank you might still have a small cycle. At least you have a hitchhiker fish, I stared a tank of LR for a month. Do you know what it is?

 

[saltwaterkitty]

its a yellow-tail damsel ... plus a hermit crab ... and lots of polyps that are open and healthy ... pics in my nano diary in the nano section ...
thanks for the info!!!
kat

 

[zako]

If you had to use a buffer to raise your pH, ive been told that a table spoon of baking soda dissolved into a glass of water will work.

 

[cajonez]

Originally Posted by Zako
http:///forum/post/3176165
If you had to use a buffer to raise your pH, ive been told that a table spoon of baking soda dissolved into a glass of water will work.
I have also heard of people using baking soda, but saying to use a tablespoon is risky. It might not be a lot if you have a 100g tank, but it would be a ton if you had a 3g nano.

 

[zako]

Originally Posted by cajonez
http:///forum/post/3176168
I have also heard of people using baking soda, but saying to use a tablespoon is risky. It might not be a lot if you have a 100g tank, but it would be a ton if you had a 3g nano.
heh yea good point it def depends on the size of your tank, My LFS told me to try a table spoon in my 40 gal but I ended up not needing to after doing water changes and positioning my return on my filter for surface agitation like people have replied on this thread to try and my pH is slowly going up.

 

[geoj]

Originally Posted by Zako
http:///forum/post/3176165
If you had to use a buffer to raise your pH, ive been told that a table spoon of baking soda dissolved into a glass of water will work.
Baking soda is all Bicarbonate. It would be helpful to have a balanced mix of buffering minerals. So I don’t use Baking soda.
The buffering substances are Carbonate, Bicarbonate, borate, hydroxide, silicate, and phosphate. You don’t want silicate and phosphate but I mention them because it is good to know they will affect things.

 

[charlie89]

So testing the calcium and making sure its right will help me keep my ph where it should be? My tank did fine keeping the ph where it should be and then this morning when i tested it was horribly low. what could have caused this drop? any ideas? im baffled and starting to be discouraged. ive lost 2 fish. and my feather duster hasnt been out in 2 days. also my toadstool is only half "awake"..

 

[cajonez]

Originally Posted by charlie89
http:///forum/post/3176182
So testing the calcium and making sure its right will help me keep my ph where it should be? My tank did fine keeping the ph where it should be and then this morning when i tested it was horribly low. what could have caused this drop? any ideas? im baffled and starting to be discouraged. ive lost 2 fish. and my feather duster hasnt been out in 2 days. also my toadstool is only half "awake"..
pH will go down after the lights go off. If you tested it first thing in the morning that could explain the drop. Test it again after the lights have been on a few hours and see if it is still low.

 

[geoj]

Yep +1
Because of the respiration of algae
How much did it move?