PH problem.....

[STHILL]

ok im in the hobby for a lil over a year now and the ph in 1 of my tanks is always low around (7.8) any ideas as to what it could be any help would be great

 

[KathyC]

Can you tell us about your set-up ? Size, bioload, sump...?
A pic would be great too.

Also - the current parameters would be helpful along with answers to the following questions:
Is there a glass cover on the tank?
What powerheads do you use for flow in your DT, do they agitate the surface of the tank very well?

 

[STHILL]

Can you tell us about your set-up ? Size, bioload, sump...?
A pic would be great too.

Also - the current parameters would be helpful along with answers to the following questions:
Is there a glass cover on the tank?
What powerheads do you use for flow in your DT, do they agitate the surface of the tank very well?

keep trying to get a pic up but says to large im tryin to figure that out but as for the tank 90 gal 100+ lbs liverock naso tang,2 damsels,yellow clown goby,purple pesudo,snowflake eel various hermet crabs and snails crushed shell n coral bottom ....125 gal pro clear aquatics wet/dry and skimmer, lighting is 260watts cf and 3 maxijet power heads for flow

 

[KathyC]

Best to re-size the pic by uploading through a site like Photobucket.

Are any of the power heads pointing up at the surface of the water (where gas exchange takes place)?
Also, out being in closed up houses with the a/c on all the time doesn't help with the pH as there is no fresh source of oxygen

What kind of skimmer?
In the wet/dry - do you have bio balls?

 

[STHILL]

Best to re-size the pic by uploading through a site like Photobucket.

Are any of the power heads pointing up at the surface of the water (where gas exchange takes place)?
Also, out being in closed up houses with the a/c on all the time doesn't help with the pH as there is no fresh source of oxygen

What kind of skimmer?
In the wet/dry - do you have bio balls?

no power headspointing up they are all pointing down , and the skimmer is a proclear aquatics,yes bio balls in the wet/dry....and my central air has been on

 

[Simon Garratt]

Hi S&THILL.

This page from my site may be of help to you in tracking down various possibilities.

http://www.reef-eden.net/chasing_ph.htm

regards

 

[jdnumis]

try just a pinch of ph buffer in a cup of fresh ro water, then test

 

[STHILL]

try just a pinch of ph buffer in a cup of fresh ro water, then test

i used the ph buffer before and it keeps it up for a few days then dight back down to 7.8

 

[Chris Jury]

Two things: 1) how are you testing pH? 2) Run this little test for me: take a cup of aquarium water and measure pH. Now set it outside (out of the sun) and aerate it with an aqarium pump for an hour and retest the pH. Do the same thing but aerate indoors. Report the results here. This will give us an idea to what extent elevated indoor CO2 is the problem.

cj

 

[dotc0m]

Wait, so Kathy what you said was, having my tank in a basement where there is no windows will affec the pH in a declining manner? (My tank isn't in a basement, just hypothetically speaking).

 

[STHILL]

ok windows open for a day and a half and ph it up and at 8.3 ......wow i would have never thought.... thanks again everyone

 

[KathyC]

Wait, so Kathy what you said was, having my tank in a basement where there is no windows will affec the pH in a declining manner? (My tank isn't in a basement, just hypothetically speaking).

IMO in the hypothetical case you present I don't know that it would continue to decline, it may just be repressed from the get-go, but it wouldn't come up to the level you want either

Wherever our tanks are it is best to have some exchange of 'used' air for fresh air - where you will find more oxygen and your pH should come up.

I also think that folks running A/C units should be sure to have them set where they are using outside air and cooling that rather than recycling the air from inside of the room repeatedly.


S & T Hill...

ok windows open for a day and a half and ph it up and at 8.3 ......wow i would have never thought

Amazing, isn't it?
Don't discount the addition of keeping the surface of the water agitated..that is also very important! The lack of movement there 'seals' in the gasses you are trying to get out of the tank.

 

[ZANYMASTER]

I have the same issue but I have a closed system so that explains that.I dose kalkwasser at night so it does not drop too much.Goes up to 8.0 when the lights are on.

 

[AlohaTropics]

Yup CO2 buildup without the exchange of fresh oxygenated air is the reason most tanks suffer low pH. It's amazing what an open window can do. Some people actually run the air inlet of their skimmers to the outside with a long airtube.


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[reefs4life]

I use washing soda from arm&hammer and it works great believe it or not, you can find it at stop and shop and probably any other supermarket. Good luck

 

[pauliwalnuts]

I aslo had the same issue. And as you now know, opening the windows quickly resolved it. But, what do you do when the weather doesn't permit you to do so. Here we go.
- Run a line of tubing from your skimmer's intake air to the outside of home, ect.
(this will bring in fresh oxygen and mix it with the water)
- From that same line connect a CO2 scrubber (a piece of equiment that I love) and that will keep the levels around the 8.0 (at night, with lights being off) wich is more excceptable. You can find it on BulkReef.com
If you have any other questions you can just pm me. Good luck