pH question...please advise

[inawe]

I've been doing about 5% water changes on my 37g every 1-2 weeks. I am religious with water tests and they are typically good. However, I took a sample to the lfs today (due for a water change this weekend). All looks good except the pH. It has dropped to 7.6. In less than 2 weeks??? What causes this? I bought Proper pH to add. The girl (new) at the lfs said add it all (1 scoop per 10g) at the same time, then ended her statement with..."since you don't have any ammonia I don't think it will harm your fish"...Needless to say, I did NOT rush home and pour the stuff in. Should this be added all in one dose, or do I need to spread it out over a few days? Also, do I mix the powder with water, or broadcast it across the water?
Thanks

 

[jerthunter]

I may not be the best person to answer you question because I do not test pH and haven't for well over a year, but I will attempt to. The reason I do not test pH is because there are far more important tests to worry about, in my opinion calcium and alkalinity. I personally do not believe it is a good idea to add any product to adjust pH. I would recommend adding a buffer only to adjust low alkalinity. Keeping Calcium and alkalinity in check should keep your pH in acceptable range.
This is all entirely my opinion, but worrying about pH won't help you much.
If you do add the proper pH, I would recommend mixing it with some topoff water to dissolve it first and then slowly add it to your tank.

 

[aztec reef]

i don't recomend to use chemicals to bring ph up, but if you already bought it then go ahead and add it slowlly thoughout the week, keep cheking water parameters. is your filter/skimmer working well?

 

[trigger11]

I highly recommend exploring what is causing the ph drop in the system you have. I have tried that proper ph stuff before with a freshwater set up and it didnt work worth beans. and even when it tried to work it only lasted for a few days. I dont know if it would be the same with saltwater but I would imagine it would. Here are a couple of questions for you which could help.
1. How does your Alkalinity test out? Or your dKH as they are the same thing. If you are testing the dKH you should be right around 11. I'm guessing your system will be low somewhere around 8 or 9. If the alkalinity is low that can drive the ph down. If this is the case then you can use a product like reefbuilder by seachem to raise the alkalinity/dKH.
2. What kind of water are you using? Tap water or RO water? If using tap water I would make the switch to RO water. This way you make sure of the water quality going into the system.
As a side note- I think it is a good thing you have asked questions here about your situation. I myself would be worried if the person at the LFS said, "Here, put this in there. I dont think it will hurt your fish". Others may be able to offer different perspective.

 

[inawe]

1. How does your Alkalinity test out? Or your dKH as they are the same thing. If you are testing the dKH you should be right around 11. I'm guessing your system will be low somewhere around 8 or 9. If the alkalinity is low that can drive the ph down. If this is the case then you can use a product like reefbuilder by seachem to raise the alkalinity/dKH.
The only Alkalinity test I have is a strip test. It has total alkility (buffering capacity) showing at 300ppm (?) and total hardness at about 425 ppm. Not sure what to look for.
2. What kind of water are you using? Tap water or RO water? If using tap water I would make the switch to RO water. This way you make sure of the water quality going into the system.
RO water...learned my lesson on tap water!

As a side note- I think it is a good thing you have asked questions here about your situation. I myself would be worried if the person at the LFS said, "Here, put this in there. I dont think it will hurt your fish". Others may be able to offer different perspective.

 

[anna&mike]

At times I feel that LFS say results to sell products.
Do you add any Buffer? The buffer and alkalinity effect ph. with that much water changes on a smaller tank I am betting money on the buffer escaping.
I am no expert. Spent 100s of hours in this board. and my tank is 6 months old. but transfered from about 3 years.
Good Luck and Hope this information helps.
Anna&Mike

 

[pontius]

another thing is what kind of salt are you using? because good salt generally helps keep the PH balanced. I have always used Proper PH 8.2 and have never had a problem, it has nothing to do with ammonia so the lfs girl must not have known what she's talking about. and yeah, the alkalinity is important because if it's too low, it can cause the PH to drop.
also, imo, 5% change every 1-2 weeks is not enough. I would recommend 10% per week.

 

[trigger11]

I'm not familiar with the test strip you are using. I have only used one brand that tested alkalinity and it was not all that informative. It was by Red Sea. Does it say in the instructions for the test strip what the acceptable ranges are? There may be a better brand out there for testing but I personally use the tetra kit for dKH. Real easy to find out where you are at. Every drop added counts as one and you know it is finished when it changes colors. The salifert kits are highly rated but are also more expensive. I would investigate your alkalinity readings a little more. An accurate test you can understand will help a lot I think.

 

[inawe]

I am not sure what dKH is. The test strip is Mardel. I think I'll take another water sample in today. Probably get another person to check...which is usually the case. This time I'll ask specifically about the alk. And since my test strip shows high alk, I should add a buffer? Any specific brand?
Also, salt is Instant Ocean. And I meant to put 5g water change, which would be a little over 5% on my tank. Sorry.

 

[bob_chauvin]

I say this because I tested at home and ph looked fine, but the same test with water I brought to the store (1hr later) showed very low ph.
Re test with your kit at the store. Are the results the same as when you tested at home?

 

[anna&mike]

Originally Posted by bob_chauvin
I say this because I tested at home and ph looked fine, but the same test with water I brought to the store (1hr later) showed very low ph.
Re test with your kit at the store. Are the results the same as when you tested at home?
That is because the PH is affected by tempurature. I read that tempurature changes that. So when you mix salt with the reverse osmosis water tempurature is important to get the same PH level. At least that is what I read.
Hope that helps.
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