Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > General Interest Forums > Reef Discussion
Blogs FAQ Calendar

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 02/13/2010, 06:30 PM   #1
Teelabrown
Registered Member
 
Teelabrown's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Houston
Posts: 96
Can't keep it up.

Serv has started kalkwasser in the big tank with an auto top-off system to get the PH up. The corals love it, but we just can't keep the PH up where it needs to be. It seems that as soon as we think it's happy, it drops again. The tank evaporates at a rate of about 2.5 gals every 4 days. He was dosing 2 tsp per bucket.

Does anyone know why we're having the drops and how to fix it? We don't want to just randomly increase the dosage without knowing what the problem might be.

Thanks!


Teelabrown is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/13/2010, 06:47 PM   #2
Fish_wiz2
Mangroves are kool.
 
Fish_wiz2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 5,246
Check your alk. As long as alk is in check, PH will flow along with it. Also, low PH's isn't that bad unless it is really low... Hope that helps, Wiz


__________________
-The Wiz

Current Tank Info: Elos Mini Seahorse Tank, 2500 gallon Koi pond
Fish_wiz2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/13/2010, 06:50 PM   #3
Teelabrown
Registered Member
 
Teelabrown's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Houston
Posts: 96
The alk, according to the test, is normal-high and it's been stable for a while. Apparently this is why it's confusing.

(Sorry, they're currently building me a new sump, so I'm just the middle-man.)


Teelabrown is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/13/2010, 07:02 PM   #4
Fish_wiz2
Mangroves are kool.
 
Fish_wiz2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Chicago
Posts: 5,246
How are you livestock? Any irregularities? If not, then don't worry much about it besides keeping your alk in check.


__________________
-The Wiz

Current Tank Info: Elos Mini Seahorse Tank, 2500 gallon Koi pond
Fish_wiz2 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/13/2010, 07:13 PM   #5
Teelabrown
Registered Member
 
Teelabrown's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Houston
Posts: 96
The issue seems to be coming from the Acans. They got badly stung when the salinity jumped up once. They've been slowly recovering, but whenever the PH is nice and up they look great. When it dips, they're deflated and blah. The other corals definitely like the higher PH, but the acans are the concern. We want to make them happy.

(Thanks for the help, btw! Greatly appreciated!)


Teelabrown is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/14/2010, 01:10 PM   #6
Servillius
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Apr 2009
Location: Houston, Texas
Posts: 289
Re: Can't keep it up.

Bump?


Servillius is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/14/2010, 01:19 PM   #7
jedheuer
Registered Member
 
jedheuer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Sonoma, Ca
Posts: 558
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php


jedheuer is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/14/2010, 01:19 PM   #8
Chupakabra-King
Mmmmmm Goats !
 
Chupakabra-King's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 408
Try two TBL spoons instead of teaspoons . Put enough in a gallon of water so that it's super cloudy , then let the extra settle out in the bottom of the bucket . Then drip the clear solution in the aquarium over an 8 hour period. 2-3 drops per second works good for my tank. My PH does dip a bit at night , but it's not bad at all .

Hope this helps !


__________________
If I get more obsessed with reefkeeping I will be divorced, living in the back of my LFS !


Been keeping fish (salt and fresh) since the 1970s.

Started reefing in 1998 .

40 Breeder Club
AP24 Club

Current Tank Info: AP24 soft coral tank & JBJ Nano 12DX, 40 Breeder
Chupakabra-King is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 02/14/2010, 01:23 PM   #9
graveyardworm
Registered Member
 
graveyardworm's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: Nottingham, NH
Posts: 7,251
Quote:
Originally Posted by Teelabrown View Post
The alk, according to the test, is normal-high and it's been stable for a while. Apparently this is why it's confusing.

(Sorry, they're currently building me a new sump, so I'm just the middle-man.)
What kit are you using to test alk, Red Sea? If so chuck it, and get a Salifert, Elos, Seachem, etc...

Carbon Dioxide plays a big role in tank pH, if the CO2 level in the room and consequently the tank is high then pH will be depressed. A typical scenario for this time year when windows and doors are shut more often.


__________________
-David-
President - New Hampshire Reef Club

There’ll be no one to save, with the world in a grave

Current Tank Info: 100 gal lagoon/seagrass, 100 gal sump, Lifereef 72" skimmer, 180 inwall, 125 inwall seagrass/lagoon in progress
graveyardworm is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 10:41 PM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2025 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2025 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.