why is my PH always on the low side... 7.9 usually??????

agoutihead

agoutihead

Member
ever since ive had my tank ive been battling low ph and i dont know why... well i only have one idea.
i just checked it a little bit ago at about 12:30 noon.... so its a day time reading....
only 7.8 or 7.9
everything else is perfect
trates - 5
trites - 0
amonia - 0
i add the bugger ona weekly basis just to bring the ph back up... but i dont feel as if you should have to do this... and i think the fluctuation might have an effect on the corals. they look pretty good.. but i think can look better.
the ONLY thing that i can come to terms is oxygen swap. i have two glass lids on the top of the tank and there is maybe an inch or so gap that lets air in or out.... now i know about egg crate.... and i dont have any animals that would jump out... the only reason i keep the glass tops on is because i need surface aggitation as i have no skimmer or fuge.... so i keep a power head pointed towards the surface to aggitate the water... and this genearlly splashes up on the glass.... and i need the glass to be a barrier between the splashing water and the light fixture... i have a compact light that lays right on the tank.
what do you guys thinks?
thanks!
 
wax32

wax32

Active Member
Get rid of the glass and raise the light.
When you say "i add the bugger", what does that mean?
 
T

t3d

Guest
I think there some mixture of calcium alkalinity, and magnesium the affects your PH. You may need to add calcium or alk......you might want to get some tests :thinking:
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by agoutihead
i have two glass lids on the top of the tank and there is maybe an inch or so gap that lets air in or out
My guess is excess CO2 in the water and unbalanced ALK/Calcium from adding too much buffer.
Try this;
Do a water change to get ALK back in line - no buffer!
Remove the glass lids, point the powerheads lower so they just circulate water, then add a small fan that blows air across the water surface. Just keep in mind that the fan is going to increase evaporation and also cool the tank several degrees. I think this will solve your PH problem though.
Any reason why you're not running a skimmer? A skimmer would probably solve the problem as well and has other benefits.
 
agoutihead

agoutihead

Member
hey guy!
did u get my email regarding the frags???
do you have a pic of the montipora???
as far as a skimmer goes... my tank is viewable from both sides..... and i dont want to have a hang on skimmer to take away from the tank so i went with an ehiem canister that i am very very happy with.
to compesate for not having a skimmer.. i generally just point a power head at the surface and kill two birds with one stone... no skim... and water aggitation.
 
latino277

latino277

Member
I just skimmed through this thread... Hope this wasn't asked but when are you running you PH test. when the lights 1st turn on or while they are off? if that is the case then that it self is the problem. PH rises as Photesythesis ( sp? ) occurs. so right before you lights go off you PH should be the greatest!.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
excellent point from Latino!
I had assumed, perhaps incorrectly, that PH tests have been conducted at different times of day.
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
Originally Posted by agoutihead
hey guy!
did u get my email regarding the frags???
do you have a pic of the montipora???
I don't think I have received an e-mail. I'll look for a pic.
 
agoutihead

agoutihead

Member
the montipora are the purple branch type things i take it towards the top middle??? are the green ones the lime green ones right next to it???
do they need heavy MH lighting???? or will vho work???
what about the shrooms.... are they in that pic as well?
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
I did get your e-mail, it got hidden in a bunch of spam.
All of the corals at the top of the tank are Montipora.
The Orange mushroom is at the lower left, there are no green ones in the pic.
This tank is lit with VHO.
 
agoutihead

agoutihead

Member
well i already have super green shrooms... i thought you had orange/green shrooms.... are the orange shrooms a super colored shroom? cause if so i would like a frag of that... and the purple montipora as long as it can live in vhos.... email me or post here how much you want for a small frag of each. thanks again!!!
 
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