ph

luckydog104 · 03/18/2008, 08:08 PM

My ph is at 8.4 and i have a small ammonia spike. Less than .50.Do I need to lower my ph and how would I do that? I thought I read somewhere that the higher the ph the more toxic the ammonia would be. I am currently trying to pinpoint my ammonia problem just wasn't sure if my ph was to high.

demonsp · 03/18/2008, 08:11 PM

I would worry about the ammonia. DO you have a skimmer? How many fish and type? Tanks age?

Reefjunkee · 03/18/2008, 08:14 PM

I`m with demon i would be more worried about the ammonia.*.4 isn`t that high.Are You using a ph monitor or test kit?if it is a monitor You may need to check the calibration.I actually run 2 ph monitors so i can get a good idea when to recalibrate.They usually stay within .3-.5 of eeach other,if it gets any higher I recalibrate.

luckydog104 · 03/18/2008, 09:03 PM

yes I have a skimmer 6 fish, 2 clowns , 2 damsels , yellow tang ,achilles tang. Tank is close to 1 year , however 60 to 70 lb of the rock was in my 55 for about 10 to 11 months before I set up the 125. I have been doing water changes weekly for about 3 weeks now to lower my trates , they were around 20 now they are closer to 10. My test kit is not exact to read API. I just noticed the ammonia spike Sunday , I did my normal 25 gallon water change and thought I would wait a day or two before doing another to try and allow tanks natural filtration to establish bacteria for ammonia spike.By the I am using ro water ,filters and membrane have less than 300 gallons on them.

demonsp · 03/18/2008, 09:05 PM

What size skimmer?
Whats used for water flow?
Amount of water changed?
Whats the feeding type and scedule?

luckydog104 · 03/18/2008, 09:22 PM

coralife 125, two korilla #4 mag 12 on the return , 25 gallon a week now but like I stated just started the weekly thing 3 weeks ago, I feed a variety mainly because of the achilles ,but nori , some spiralina flake , frozen myisis , new life spectrum pellets ,and formula 2 frozen. Nori twice daily , new life spectrum once in the morning , spiralina flake once afternoon , every two to three days half a cube of frozen . I also use selcon on one feeding every other day.

demonsp · 03/18/2008, 10:13 PM

I think your over feeding. You should feed nori 1 or 2 times a week on a clip. I feed flake in the morning and only what they can eat in 1 or 2 min and skip a day weekly then frozen at night from brine to marine cusine , and cyclops and only what they can eat in 2 or 3 min. The more you feed the more waste they will produce.

Then if its a 125 and you have only 2 K4's then the lack of flow means uneatin food , fish waste and other debris will collect.

tmz · 03/18/2008, 11:46 PM

If you have been feeding at his level for a while your bacteria should be able to handle the ammonia load . I don't think starving your fish is the answer. Although you have adequate water movement with the 2 k4s.accumulations of detrius are possible and blowing off the rock and puffing the sand bed are good practices.Is it is possible that something has died in the rock or that you have introduced a new level of food lately? A spike in an established tank would likely occur after a big increase in decaying matter not a gradual buildup as would be the case with routine feeding.

luckydog104 · 03/19/2008, 09:39 PM

I don't know of anything dying , all fish and few corals are still here . I did add about 10 lbs of rock about 2 weeks ago this coming sunday.I have not thought about it but die off in transport from my friends house to mine possible cause but I did not think it would be that bad.

Aquarist007 · 03/19/2008, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by luckydog104
I don't know of anything dying , all fish and few corals are still here . I did add about 10 lbs of rock about 2 weeks ago this coming sunday.I have not thought about it but die off in transport from my friends house to mine possible cause but I did not think it would be that bad.

you are right --that would not make that much of a difference to spike the ammonia level
I suspect your test kit may be wrong--take some water to the LFS and have them test it for you.

Aquarist007 · 03/19/2008, 09:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by tmz
If you have been feeding at his level for a while your bacteria should be able to handle the ammonia load . I don't think starving your fish is the answer. Although you have adequate water movement with the 2 k4s.accumulations of detrius are possible and blowing off the rock and puffing the sand bed are good practices.Is it is possible that something has died in the rock or that you have introduced a new level of food lately? A spike in an established tank would likely occur after a big increase in decaying matter not a gradual buildup as would be the case with routine feeding.

HI Tom:
could use your input on this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...readid=1349443

Randy Holmes-Farley · 03/20/2008, 09:27 AM

Have you ever seen that tank read 0 ammonia with that kit? If this is an established tank, ammonia spikes should be quite uncommon. Maybe it is just testing error.

Also, there is a big difference between 0.4 ppm free ammonia, and 0.1 ppm total ammonia. What are you reporting and get you give a more precise value?

I would not generally deal with ammonia issues by lowering tank pH, but it could be useful. Treating with an ammonia binder (Amquel or Prime, for example) is possibly more effective, but I would not do that without a better measurement or an obvious reason for high ammonia.

This article has more:

Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/index.php

03/18/2008, 08:08 PM	#1
luckydog104 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: tenn Posts: 268	ph My ph is at 8.4 and i have a small ammonia spike. Less than .50.Do I need to lower my ph and how would I do that? I thought I read somewhere that the higher the ph the more toxic the ammonia would be. I am currently trying to pinpoint my ammonia problem just wasn't sure if my ph was to high.

03/18/2008, 08:14 PM	#3
Reefjunkee Premium Member Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Evans,Georgia Posts: 633	I`m with demon i would be more worried about the ammonia.*.4 isn`t that high.Are You using a ph monitor or test kit?if it is a monitor You may need to check the calibration.I actually run 2 ph monitors so i can get a good idea when to recalibrate.They usually stay within .3-.5 of eeach other,if it gets any higher I recalibrate. __________________ "It was only 20 dollars honey (yeah right)and when it grows bigger I can frag it sell it and triple my money!!!" Current Tank Info: 92 corner bow,160lb`s Figi,SPS,LPS and a few softies,EuroReef CS8-3 skimmer,MRC dual reactor,OM supersquirt on Iwaki MD30rlxt w/4 returns,2 Tunze 6055`s w/multicontroller,poseiden auto top off,aqualogic 1/3 chiller,blah,blah,blah,blah

03/18/2008, 11:46 PM	#8
tmz ReefKeeping Mag staff Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: West Seneca NY Posts: 27,691	If you have been feeding at his level for a while your bacteria should be able to handle the ammonia load . I don't think starving your fish is the answer. Although you have adequate water movement with the 2 k4s.accumulations of detrius are possible and blowing off the rock and puffing the sand bed are good practices.Is it is possible that something has died in the rock or that you have introduced a new level of food lately? A spike in an established tank would likely occur after a big increase in decaying matter not a gradual buildup as would be the case with routine feeding. __________________ Tom Current Tank Info: Tank of the Month , November 2011 : 600gal integrated system: 3 display tanks (120 g, 90g, 89g),several frag/grow out tanks, macroalgae refugia, cryptic zones. 40+ fish, seahorses, sps,lps,leathers, zoanthidae and non photosynthetic corals.

03/20/2008, 09:27 AM	#12
Randy Holmes-Farley Reef Chemist Join Date: Apr 2001 Location: Arlington, Massachusetts Posts: 86,233	Have you ever seen that tank read 0 ammonia with that kit? If this is an established tank, ammonia spikes should be quite uncommon. Maybe it is just testing error. Also, there is a big difference between 0.4 ppm free ammonia, and 0.1 ppm total ammonia. What are you reporting and get you give a more precise value? I would not generally deal with ammonia issues by lowering tank pH, but it could be useful. Treating with an ammonia binder (Amquel or Prime, for example) is possibly more effective, but I would not do that without a better measurement or an obvious reason for high ammonia. This article has more: Ammonia and the Reef Aquarium http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-02/rhf/index.php __________________ Randy Holmes-Farley Current Tank Info: 120 mixed reef

03/18/2008, 08:11 PM	#2
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	I would worry about the ammonia. DO you have a skimmer? How many fish and type? Tanks age?

03/18/2008, 09:03 PM	#4
luckydog104 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: tenn Posts: 268	yes I have a skimmer 6 fish, 2 clowns , 2 damsels , yellow tang ,achilles tang. Tank is close to 1 year , however 60 to 70 lb of the rock was in my 55 for about 10 to 11 months before I set up the 125. I have been doing water changes weekly for about 3 weeks now to lower my trates , they were around 20 now they are closer to 10. My test kit is not exact to read API. I just noticed the ammonia spike Sunday , I did my normal 25 gallon water change and thought I would wait a day or two before doing another to try and allow tanks natural filtration to establish bacteria for ammonia spike.By the I am using ro water ,filters and membrane have less than 300 gallons on them.

03/18/2008, 09:05 PM	#5
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	What size skimmer? Whats used for water flow? Amount of water changed? Whats the feeding type and scedule?

03/18/2008, 09:22 PM	#6
luckydog104 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: tenn Posts: 268	coralife 125, two korilla #4 mag 12 on the return , 25 gallon a week now but like I stated just started the weekly thing 3 weeks ago, I feed a variety mainly because of the achilles ,but nori , some spiralina flake , frozen myisis , new life spectrum pellets ,and formula 2 frozen. Nori twice daily , new life spectrum once in the morning , spiralina flake once afternoon , every two to three days half a cube of frozen . I also use selcon on one feeding every other day.

03/18/2008, 10:13 PM	#7
demonsp Moved On Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: el paso tx Posts: 7,634	I think your over feeding. You should feed nori 1 or 2 times a week on a clip. I feed flake in the morning and only what they can eat in 1 or 2 min and skip a day weekly then frozen at night from brine to marine cusine , and cyclops and only what they can eat in 2 or 3 min. The more you feed the more waste they will produce. Then if its a 125 and you have only 2 K4's then the lack of flow means uneatin food , fish waste and other debris will collect.

03/19/2008, 09:39 PM	#9
luckydog104 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: tenn Posts: 268	I don't know of anything dying , all fish and few corals are still here . I did add about 10 lbs of rock about 2 weeks ago this coming sunday.I have not thought about it but die off in transport from my friends house to mine possible cause but I did not think it would be that bad.