Low ph! (1 Viewer)

[3fish]

Not sure what's going on, but starting to have a problem with my ph. Just tested and it's barely at 8.0 and I did a 15% water change yesterday.

29 gallon With 2 power heads
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

Yes I did use r/o for water change and top off.

Acan not full like it always is, so getting concerned. It's my favorite! (thanks Dennis)

Could the ph affect corals this quickly? And more importantly how do I find out what the problem is (and how do I fix)?

 

[fightmeaboutit]

7.8-8.4 is the range anything under or higher then you would have problem so maybe check alk/cal or a sudden change in parameters or temp

 

[3fish]

Thanks- I'm in process of rechecking all parameters now.

 

[Mark L.]

Agreed. You should be fine at 8.0.

pH is basically a measure of hydrogen ions in your water. The more hydrogen present the lower your pH will be. If you want to raise your pH try opening some windows/doors in your house to get some fresh air in.

 

[angel4]

I used baking soda to raise my pH, worked very well.

 

[mwilliams62]

I tired the baking soda but tank became slightly cloudy don't know if I put too much in or what but went back to my regular PH buffer stuff by kent.

 

[RR-MAN]

Becareful using buffers. It raises your PH but it also raises Alkalinity (DKH). You can't just raise PH and not worry about other parameters.

 

[3fish]

I would rather not add any buffers, so I figured I would just leave it alone (the advice above made me feel better). Everything in the tank actually looks good and Ive been steady at 8, so guess I'll just keep watching and make sure it doesn't drop any more.

I am also trying to open doors, etc when the weather is nice. May add a clip on fan or something, I need a little help keeping the temp down sometimes anyways.

Thanks again for the feedback - glad I joined!

 

[3fish]

Haha as soon as I posted realized it said marsh guest under my name - didn't remember that membership thru 12/31 - need to find where to renew!

 

[Kabuto]

BTW. Yo raise pH with Baking soda (Sodium Bicarbonate) it needs to be baked first to form sodium carbonate. Both Sodium Carbonate and Bicarbonate will raise Alk. If doing any supplements, always test and use a reef supplement calculator.