Low Ph

[exsarg]

Maybe near end of cycle in new tank, trite 0, ammonia 0, started LR Mar 5, added LS Mar 10, changed out about 9 gal this evening(24gal), but concerned with low Ph, my lowest dip goes to 7 and it is lower than that, should I be concerned and what do I do to raise it ?

Thanks much

exsarg

 

[Crazy fishes]

If you look on reefkeeping. com there is an article by Randy Holmes Farley on low pH: causes and cures. Search Randy Holmes Farley and look for that article; Low pH:causes and cures. It is a really good article and will give you an idea of the chemistry involved to get a balanced pH. Normally people say a pH of 8.1-8.4 is a good range to work in but some people have success with pH as low as 7.8. If your pH is 7 and lower then that is way too low. Again if you look on reefkeeping.com for Randy Holmes Farley he has written some nice articles on buffering, alkalinity and the like. Incidently what salt are you using and what are the rest of your water parameters like? I had trouble with low pH in my 24g and found that the major problem was the salt I was using; not standardised and so low Ca and bicarbonate. If there is no thing in the tank at the moment then don't add anything; dosing is a no-no. It is expensive and most of the time unnecessary although there are times when you should. This is not one of them. Also what pumps have you got for water movement? Surface agitation is key in eliminating excess CO2 which will lower your pH. Once your tank CO2 is at an equilibrium with the surrounding air pH is really just a function of dKh after that hence my interest in the other water parameters.

Hope this helps and any other problems just ask

Regards

 

[SkiFletch]

A pH of 7 indicates water that has no salt mix in it, or water with way too much carbon dioxide in it (or maybe if someone started pouring bleach in it ). Please tell me you waterchanged with salt water and didn't replace with freshwater?

If your salinity is fine, Crazy Fishes is right, CO2 is the culprit here and surface agitation is the answer . If you have one, remove any glass lids

 

[CageUK]

Hi exsarg

The advice I got was pretty much the same, surface agitation. I was using a Hydor diverter and only got surface agitation when the diverter was pointing upwards (about a third of it's rotational portion) so I took it off and the stream now shoots straight across the surface giving much greater movement. I do also buffer occasionally but is the exception rather than the rule.

I have also put an airstone running from a seperate and dedicated air pump into one of my 'integral' filter chambers to give aeration away from the tank display. Since my tank has cycled the PH has stablised a great deal and I think that in general cycling tanks have a much harder time trying to sort out their PH.

Skifletch is right though to bring up the concerns about the level of PH in your particular instance and examining the reasons why. The lowest my PH had ever got was around 7.6 and that was just after cycling and only until I took the corrective measures. My evening reading is now around 8.3.



Good luck in sorting it.