ph seems too high? Whats going on?

spud71 · 01/26/2006, 10:08 PM

This is actually my 3rd reef tank, first was a 45 gallon I had to break down when I moved cross country, second was a 12g nano that I just moved into this my third, a 50 gallon tank with 10 gallon sump.

I have 50lbs of live rock, 60lbs of aragonite sand, and the tank has just finished cycling so I moved my criters into the bigger tank, 1 royal gramma, 2 false percula clowns, a small set of mushroom polyps and squamosa clam. I have also added recently a reef cleaning package of snails and hermit crabs.

I have 2 96w power compacts and two 175w MH, The PC's come on first for 12 hours and the MH come on for 8.

I have a 1/10hp chiller and two 100w heaters along with a trusty old Berlin Classic skimmer. Everything is being controlled by a Neptune Jr controller.

The trouble I am having that I have not experienced with my other tanks is that my ph is getting rather high. It seems to be staying aorund 8.6 and has me worried. I have done water changes and it stays high. It has not dropped below 8.4

Normally my tanks have been around 8.2-8.3. I have reads lots about insufficient ph, but not much about high ph. I understand that about 8.4 is perhaps better for calcification(sp?) but 8.6 seems too high.

The calcium level (salifert tests) are around 400, but the alkalinity seems high to me at about 12 dkh

My temp is maintained at 78 +- 0.5 degrees.

Can someone please let me know what is going on?

Thanks

bertoni · 01/27/2006, 10:29 PM

12 dKH isn't all that bad. You could let it drop.

What are you dosing in the way of Ca, alkalinity, or any pH control products?

This article covers a lot of ground:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rhf/index.php

01/26/2006, 10:08 PM	#1
spud71 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 25	ph seems too high? Whats going on? This is actually my 3rd reef tank, first was a 45 gallon I had to break down when I moved cross country, second was a 12g nano that I just moved into this my third, a 50 gallon tank with 10 gallon sump. I have 50lbs of live rock, 60lbs of aragonite sand, and the tank has just finished cycling so I moved my criters into the bigger tank, 1 royal gramma, 2 false percula clowns, a small set of mushroom polyps and squamosa clam. I have also added recently a reef cleaning package of snails and hermit crabs. I have 2 96w power compacts and two 175w MH, The PC's come on first for 12 hours and the MH come on for 8. I have a 1/10hp chiller and two 100w heaters along with a trusty old Berlin Classic skimmer. Everything is being controlled by a Neptune Jr controller. The trouble I am having that I have not experienced with my other tanks is that my ph is getting rather high. It seems to be staying aorund 8.6 and has me worried. I have done water changes and it stays high. It has not dropped below 8.4 Normally my tanks have been around 8.2-8.3. I have reads lots about insufficient ph, but not much about high ph. I understand that about 8.4 is perhaps better for calcification(sp?) but 8.6 seems too high. The calcium level (salifert tests) are around 400, but the alkalinity seems high to me at about 12 dkh My temp is maintained at 78 +- 0.5 degrees. Can someone please let me know what is going on? Thanks

01/27/2006, 10:29 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	12 dKH isn't all that bad. You could let it drop. What are you dosing in the way of Ca, alkalinity, or any pH control products? This article covers a lot of ground: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rhf/index.php __________________ Jonathan Bertoni