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Weird pH problem


NanoReefer27

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NanoReefer27

My established 14 gal has been doing pretty well, but I tested pH tonight and it is running very low, like 7.6 low, my nitrates are 0 and everything else checks out. What is causing this problem and how can I fix it?

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NanoReefer27

Ah, could be due to a heater malfunction, my water usually sits at 78 to 79 but now it is at 82. Could this account for such a low ph though?

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Nano sapiens

Possibly CO2 buildup which causes pH to drop. Open some windows in the room for a while and then check again.

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Nano sapiens

Hmmm, that is a problem...

 

I would check pH at 8 hr intervals to see if it's constantly low. Your pH is low, but if it goes up a bit and the corals look fine then it's probably okay.

 

Might want to get a double check somehow on that pH reading, just to be sure.

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NanoReefer27

Yeah Ill check again in the morning and see. I was gonna start adding a couple LPS maybe a hammer and frog so this is not a good time for my parameters to freak out

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Ph will change throughout the day. Its at its lowest when the lights are off.

 

Try testing late afternoon when the lights have been on for a while

 

I stopped chasing ph- so much info out there regarding ph chasing.

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  • 3 weeks later...
SquishyFishy

I've been having the same problem with a 2 yrs old tank. Corals are all pretty happy so are fish, but I've been losing inverts. Snails and shrimp disappearing, even a large skunk cleaner and I can't find any brittle stars. I used to have at least 6 or 7 of them in the rock..

 

No nitrates either, dosing Red Sea's no2/po2 and have Rowaphos in media basket. I change out floss every 3 or 4 days and WC at 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Cannot keep the ph up. All my coralline has disappeared too. I have been dosing with 2 part Fushion and just started using the Seachem Marine buffer which got it up to 8.2 yesterday...this morning back down to 7.5! HELP

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I've been having the same problem with a 2 yrs old tank. Corals are all pretty happy so are fish, but I've been losing inverts. Snails and shrimp disappearing, even a large skunk cleaner and I can't find any brittle stars. I used to have at least 6 or 7 of them in the rock..

 

No nitrates either, dosing Red Sea's no2/po2 and have Rowaphos in media basket. I change out floss every 3 or 4 days and WC at 1 1/2 to 2 weeks. Cannot keep the ph up. All my coralline has disappeared too. I have been dosing with 2 part Fushion and just started using the Seachem Marine buffer which got it up to 8.2 yesterday...this morning back down to 7.5! HELP

 

That's weird. What are your calcium and alk levels?

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SquishyFishy

Just completed another WC, I do a 5 gal. change for my Biocube 29. water volumn is abot 26 gals. so 1/5 the tank. PH is somewhere between 7.8 ad 8.0.


Stella

 

Don't have a test right now. Ordered one from Amazon 2 days ago. But those levels with the Fusion should read well.

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Just completed another WC, I do a 5 gal. change for my Biocube 29. water volumn is abot 26 gals. so 1/5 the tank. PH is somewhere between 7.8 ad 8.0.

Stella

 

Don't have a test right now. Ordered one from Amazon 2 days ago. But those levels with the Fusion should read well.

 

The only thing that made me think to ask was the white coralline. The only time my coralline went white was when my calcium and alk were low/out of whack. I had been dosing but not enough to keep up with coral growth.

 

Disclaimer: I have no idea whether or not low Ph would cause white coralline.

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SquishyFishy

I found my test kit I had, I had misplaced it.

 

My Kh is 9.6 Alk 3.4

 

And you misunderstood...coralline disappeared did not go white. All my corals are doing well except the frogspawn is in decline, down to 1 head. But the purple coralline just disappeared, only a few spots on the hydors and near the intake.

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  • 2 weeks later...

started using the Seachem Marine buffer which got it up to 8.2 yesterday...this morning back down to 7.5! HELP

 

 

Do NOT dose buffer, I repeat, do NOT dose buffer. It is only a temporary fix (as you have seen) and the swings will really mess your tank up long term. Remember, stability is key!! No swings!!!! That pH buffer also affects your Alk!

 

my pH has always been around 7.7 because I keep the windows to the house closed. I would look for another cause of your invert issue, MANY people have low-ish pH.

 

If you want to try and raise pH safely, get a long airline and run your skimmers intake out a window (if you have a skimmer that is).

 

If you do large % water changes, I have found it stresses inverts out, mostly the ones that need to molt, and they seem to eventually disappear.

 

 

People that chase pH often dose their tank much too much with a buffer that will raise the alkalinity levels too high. They keep measuring pH and when they see it is "low" they add more powdered solution to get that number up because they are worried about hitting a magic number.

 

pH will be whatever it will be. Yes, you can pump in fresh air from outside and run it to your skimmer. Yes, you can dose kalkwasser during the night to help raise it. Yes, you can add pH buffers to raise the number, but why? There are some beautiful reefs out there that seem to thrive in a daily pH swing of 7.7 to 7.9 for years at a time.

 

http://www.melevsreef.com/node/1739

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