Unsolvable chronic low pH

[Mr. Fosi]

I think I need to get a 5 gallon bucket and start aerating my mix water outside. If the weekly water change with the aerated water doesn't work..

 

It won't.

 

You'll see a short-lived bump right after the change but you'll be back down in your regular low numbers within 12 hours. You really need to improve the gas exchange either with outside air or with the macroalage in the back.

 

If you had proper lighting for the macro, kept enough biomass and ran the light 24 hrs it would help to keep your CO2 down (and thus pH high) but since you are limited to the volume of one back chamber I don't think this will be the solution for you.

 

Hmm.. well if all the above doesn't work then maybe I'll just go back to the basics.. a crappy air pump.

 

Might work. Salt creep and salt mist might become issues.

 

It's too bad you aren't running a skimmer... You could run an airline from outside for your skimmer air intake and that would be the end of your pH problems.

[D3monic]

I can get the ph up in my tank from 7.87 to 8.35 just by leaving a window open all day and the feeder lid on the tank open. I need to set my system on reverse lighting because I leave the fuge lights on 24/7 and still drop to around 7.8-7.98 overnight. No one in the tank seems to mind though.

[MikeTR]

I did the indoor aeration test and didn't have nearly the success as the outdoor test. I think it only brought it up by .05 when I did it inside. Unfortunately the tank is in a location where I can't get any outdoor air pumped directly to it. Maybe time to move it .. or run a very long air line. If it wasn't so darn hot down here I'd leave a window open. Will definitely have to figure something out!

[zemuss]

Mike,

 

How long did you aerate your water for?

 

I had a similar problem and after a couple of days the ph went up.

"Z"

[vangvace]

I did the indoor aeration test and didn't have nearly the success as the outdoor test. I think it only brought it up by .05 when I did it inside. Unfortunately the tank is in a location where I can't get any outdoor air pumped directly to it. Maybe time to move it .. or run a very long air line. If it wasn't so darn hot down here I'd leave a window open. Will definitely have to figure something out!

 

You said that the tank is near the front door? Can you run an airline through a gap (say in one of the corners of the door's frame?

[MikeTR]

You said that the tank is near the front door? Can you run an airline through a gap (say in one of the corners of the door's frame?

I've been running a test on my quarantine tank.. I guess it's really now just another tank lol.. I have it set up in my 2nd bedroom and I've had a pump outside on my porch running an airline through the window and it's keeping the PH at a constant 7.95. Haven't done a water change in like.. i cant remember how long ago.. so I'm going to do one at lunch today and restore some of the buffering capacity. What's sad is that I've put this QT tank through hell and it's doing better than my biocube. I basically use it to rinse off all the equipment before I use it in the display tank, i shake off my live rock in it.. etc.. basically not caring...i have no sand, only a couple pieces of rock, an 8watt light.. and coralline spreading quite nicely.

 

So with that, I need to come up with a creative way to pump outside air into the nano.. off to google i go.