BanditMan15
Member
hey guys and gals I just did a water test and showed my ph around 8.0 so I used buffer to get it back up to my norm 8.2 8.4 and now look.... What's going on!!??
Quick help!!! Mushrooms and others don't look good?!!
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BanditMan15
Member
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BanditMan15
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flower
Well-Known Member
I agree with Bang Guy.
Just a note for you to remember in the future: 8.0 was okay and you shouldn't have dosed. PH changes through the day, sometimes you can just stir the sand to bring it up.
Now for the big question...What can be done to bring things back to normal? I'm guessing it will work itself out, or you can do a water change.
LOL...This note is for you Bang: When you tell us we screwed up, tell us what to do to fix it, or even if it needs fixing...Not knowing are the things that cause us stress.
Just a note for you to remember in the future: 8.0 was okay and you shouldn't have dosed. PH changes through the day, sometimes you can just stir the sand to bring it up.
Now for the big question...What can be done to bring things back to normal? I'm guessing it will work itself out, or you can do a water change.
LOL...This note is for you Bang: When you tell us we screwed up, tell us what to do to fix it, or even if it needs fixing...Not knowing are the things that cause us stress.
BanditMan15
Member
So basically I screwed up?... So I shouldn't use buffer... When should I be concern with ph? I'm really worried about hammer heads
bang guy
Moderator
The only question asked was "what's going on"....
There is no way for me to offer suggestions when the only water parameter provided is PH. I need all of them.
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bang guy
Moderator
Only use "buffer" to raise PH if your Alkalinity is low. That is the ONLY time it is appropriate in a display tank.
PH should be treated as a symptom, not something you can directly fix. This of low PH as a Flu. Sure you get a fever and you can reduce the fever with medicine, but reducing the fever doesn't do anything for eliminating the Flu, it could in fact extend the life of the Flu.
Same with PH, you can mask the real problem by temporarily and artificially raising the PH with chemicals (Borate or Carbonate). That does nothing to fix the problem though. In fact, it can make it impossible to find the real problem.
Low PH can be caused by insufficient Carbonate (please list your Alkalinity level). This isn't usually the real cause of low PH though. It is most often excess CO2 or metabolic acids from decomposing organic matter.
To check if it's CO2 simply get a glass full of tank water, test the PH of the water in the glass, take the glass outside for 10 minutes and retest the PH. If the PH rises then it's simply excess CO2. Solving that problem could be as simple as cleaning your skimmer.
Metabolic acids are more complicated, you need to find the source. Clogged filters with decomposing detritus, rotting leftover food or fish poop, etc.
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BanditMan15
Member
PH 8.0
Water temp 77
Nitrite 0.05
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 4.0
Alk 11.8
Ca 450
Mg 1400
Phosphate 4
Salt 1.025
Water temp 77
Nitrite 0.05
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 4.0
Alk 11.8
Ca 450
Mg 1400
Phosphate 4
Salt 1.025
BanditMan15
Member
Bang and flowerthanks for help tanks been great for 6 months really appreciate it
bang guy
Moderator
This fits in with my guess as to what's happening.
Alkalinity is already high and then when you raise it with the "Buffer" it gets higher than what can be sustained and a reaction between Carbonate and Calcium occurs. The ironic thing is that this reaction often lowers PH back to where it was before.
Thank you for the numbers, they are really important when attempting to diagnose a problem.
In my opinion, leave the PH at 8.0, there's nothing wrong with that number. But I would check the skimmer to ensure it's operating at 100% and also check everywhere for a collection of detritus that might be rotting including any mechanical filtration you have.
BanditMan15
Member
Wow your good!!! Just got home from work for lunch and your right skimmer is broke!! Glad I ordered one yesterday it will be here today!!! Thanks for all your help tank actually looks sooo much better only coral that doesn't look good still is my hammers
BanditMan15
Member
I've been on forum for awhile I should have known better to post numbers first ask questions second... From now on I'm going to ask before I attempt to dose with anything still sorta new to corals
BanditMan15
Member
Should I go ahead and do wc? I have 70 gal maybe do 15 gal change?
BanditMan15
Member
Thanks Bang KYU (keep you updated)