Ph issue

aliciatprince · 01/23/2015, 09:21 AM

I am having trouble getting my Ph to stay above 7.8. I've dosed and it still is low. I'm using only RO water. Thoughts?

Frozenguy · 01/23/2015, 09:27 AM

What did you dose and how much. Water changes? What salt mix are you using.

What part of the house is the tank in.

Spar · 01/23/2015, 09:29 AM

what is your KH/Alk at, and what do you dose to keep it consistent? that is more important than pH. if you can keep KH at a good number and consistent, you really don't need to monitor pH.

ReefsandGeeks · 01/23/2015, 09:31 AM

What is your alkalinity? in a saltwater tank alkalinity is much more important than pH. typicaly people with a saltwater aquarium try to make sure their alkalinity is good, and then the pH will naturaly fall where it should. 7.8 is not a bad pH. Sure online sources will say it should be 8.2 or 8.3 or whatever, but if you are adding buffers to try to chase after pH you will actualy throw off some of the most important parameters in your tank in an effort to get something that is not very important where you are told it should be.

If you're alkalinity is good (it may likely be high from dosing) than you can increase you pH by increasing the surface agitation of your water, and by increasing the air exhange. My pH rose up to where I've always ben told it should be when I added a good sized protein skimmer to my tank. You're house may also have an abundance of CO2 in the air, which would lower pH. not much you can do about that but open a window, or run your protein skimmer air inlet hose outside.

Again, there is nothing wrong with 7.8 pH, and what you should realy be checking is alkalinity not pH. pH would only be an issue if you checked it and it was way off. like low 7s. Ofthen that means your alkalinity is low though.

aliciatprince · 01/24/2015, 08:22 AM

Tank is in my back den and sump is behind the wall in a laundry room. I only dosed once with a single dose of buffer max. But it didn't budge so I decided not to dose again until I got advice. We just installed the sump yesterday, no animals in the tank. But have had a good cycle and everything tests well but the Ph. KH is 220. I have a protein skimmer in the sump along with a PhosBan reactor. Will be adding a bigger heater because doubling my water volume has made a big drop in temperature. To answer another question- my local store sells the seawater already made up so the initial water and the sump water came from him. For changes at home I use Reef Crystals

aliciatprince · 01/24/2015, 08:23 AM

aliciatprince · 01/24/2015, 08:27 AM

Spar · 01/24/2015, 03:28 PM

re: KH; just fyi, most people post their KH in terms of degrees rather than ppm. there are 17.848 ppm per degree, making your 200ppm = 11.2 dKH. This is a perfectly good and relatively high number, so as long as you are keeping it consistent at this level, you are doing well. And with that high of a KH you definitely do not need to be concerning yourself with pH.

01/23/2015, 09:21 AM	#1
aliciatprince Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 32	Ph issue I am having trouble getting my Ph to stay above 7.8. I've dosed and it still is low. I'm using only RO water. Thoughts? __________________ Alicia

01/23/2015, 09:29 AM	#3
Spar Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 2,517	what is your KH/Alk at, and what do you dose to keep it consistent? that is more important than pH. if you can keep KH at a good number and consistent, you really don't need to monitor pH. __________________ 450g Mixed SPS/LPS Reef (MH/T5/VHO)

01/24/2015, 08:22 AM	#5
aliciatprince Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 32	Ph issue Tank is in my back den and sump is behind the wall in a laundry room. I only dosed once with a single dose of buffer max. But it didn't budge so I decided not to dose again until I got advice. We just installed the sump yesterday, no animals in the tank. But have had a good cycle and everything tests well but the Ph. KH is 220. I have a protein skimmer in the sump along with a PhosBan reactor. Will be adding a bigger heater because doubling my water volume has made a big drop in temperature. To answer another question- my local store sells the seawater already made up so the initial water and the sump water came from him. For changes at home I use Reef Crystals __________________ Alicia Last edited by aliciatprince; 01/24/2015 at 08:36 AM.

01/24/2015, 08:23 AM	#6
aliciatprince Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 32	__________________ Alicia

01/24/2015, 08:27 AM	#7
aliciatprince Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 32	__________________ Alicia

01/23/2015, 09:27 AM	#2
Frozenguy Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2014 Posts: 226	What did you dose and how much. Water changes? What salt mix are you using. What part of the house is the tank in.

01/23/2015, 09:31 AM	#4
ReefsandGeeks Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 1,708	What is your alkalinity? in a saltwater tank alkalinity is much more important than pH. typicaly people with a saltwater aquarium try to make sure their alkalinity is good, and then the pH will naturaly fall where it should. 7.8 is not a bad pH. Sure online sources will say it should be 8.2 or 8.3 or whatever, but if you are adding buffers to try to chase after pH you will actualy throw off some of the most important parameters in your tank in an effort to get something that is not very important where you are told it should be. If you're alkalinity is good (it may likely be high from dosing) than you can increase you pH by increasing the surface agitation of your water, and by increasing the air exhange. My pH rose up to where I've always ben told it should be when I added a good sized protein skimmer to my tank. You're house may also have an abundance of CO2 in the air, which would lower pH. not much you can do about that but open a window, or run your protein skimmer air inlet hose outside. Again, there is nothing wrong with 7.8 pH, and what you should realy be checking is alkalinity not pH. pH would only be an issue if you checked it and it was way off. like low 7s. Ofthen that means your alkalinity is low though.

01/24/2015, 03:28 PM	#8
Spar Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Plano, TX Posts: 2,517	re: KH; just fyi, most people post their KH in terms of degrees rather than ppm. there are 17.848 ppm per degree, making your 200ppm = 11.2 dKH. This is a perfectly good and relatively high number, so as long as you are keeping it consistent at this level, you are doing well. And with that high of a KH you definitely do not need to be concerning yourself with pH. __________________ 450g Mixed SPS/LPS Reef (MH/T5/VHO)