Finally getting somewhere but now need some help with ph please

[Nataleeia]

Ok so if you haven’t read any of my other threads been having a little bit of trouble with the salinity which we have fixed, my fault totally for not putting enough salt in the one and only time my shop didn’t have salt ro but anyways this has been sorted and we finally have some progress. Have had the corals since Friday along with a peppermint shrimp which is still alive and happy. Will post a pic of my parameters today, my main concern is ph as it always seems lower than I would like it. I’m going to do a water change today so will test again tonight, but how do you all keep the ph balanced please?

 

[14 foot reef]

Have you tested co2 in your home yet, especially around your reef set up? That's the greatest place to start as a high co2 home will be your biggest pH enemy.

 

[Nataleeia]

Have you tested co2 in your home yet, especially around your reef set up? That's the greatest place to start as a high co2 home will be your biggest pH enemy.

No I havent, we do have the window opened in here with the tank often though. How would I go about testing for that?

 

[14 foot reef]

No I havent, we do have the window opened in here with the tank often though. How would I go about testing for that?

Amazon has some fairly inexpensive monitors.

 

[Dburr1014]

Ok so if you haven’t read any of my other threads been having a little bit of trouble with the salinity which we have fixed, my fault totally for not putting enough salt in the one and only time my shop didn’t have salt ro but anyways this has been sorted and we finally have some progress. Have had the corals since Friday along with a peppermint shrimp which is still alive and happy. Will post a pic of my parameters today, my main concern is ph as it always seems lower than I would like it. I’m going to do a water change today so will test again tonight, but how do you all keep the ph balanced please?

Is your probe calibrated?
Do you run a skimmer?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

This may help:

The Aeration Test

Some of the possible causes of low pH listed above require an effort to diagnose. Problems 3 and 4 are quite common, and here is a way to distinguish them. Remove a cup of tank water and measure its pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. Its pH should rise if it is unusually low for the measured alkalinity (Figure 2). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If its pH also rises, then the aquarium’s pH will rise simply with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise in the cup (or rises very little) when aerating with indoor air, then that air likely contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should). Be careful implementing this test if the outside aeration test results in a large temperature change (more than 5°C or 10°F), because such changes alone impact pH measurements.

pH and the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION

by Randy Holmes-Farley For many aquarists, pH is not something that they have much experience with aside from their aquarium. For many, pH is almost a black box measurement: something to be considered, but whose physical meaning makes little sense to them. This article will Read more here...

www.reefedition.com

 

[Nataleeia]

Amazon has some fairly inexpensive monitors.

Ok will have a look now, thank you

 

[14 foot reef]

Is your probe calibrated?
Do you run a skimmer?

See photo hang on the back skimmer

 

[Dburr1014]

See photo hang on the back skimmer

I guess I'm not very observant, lol.

 

[Nataleeia]

Is your probe calibrated?
Do you run a skimmer?

Yes I calibrate it often, we have a digital ph tester now, and yes we have a bubble magnus skimmer running in one of the chambers at the back of the tank

 

[Nataleeia]

This may help:

The Aeration Test

Some of the possible causes of low pH listed above require an effort to diagnose. Problems 3 and 4 are quite common, and here is a way to distinguish them. Remove a cup of tank water and measure its pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. Its pH should rise if it is unusually low for the measured alkalinity (Figure 2). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If its pH also rises, then the aquarium’s pH will rise simply with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise in the cup (or rises very little) when aerating with indoor air, then that air likely contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should). Be careful implementing this test if the outside aeration test results in a large temperature change (more than 5°C or 10°F), because such changes alone impact pH measurements.

pH and the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION

by Randy Holmes-Farley For many aquarists, pH is not something that they have much experience with aside from their aquarium. For many, pH is almost a black box measurement: something to be considered, but whose physical meaning makes little sense to them. This article will Read more here...

www.reefedition.com

thank you will have a read

 

[I never finish anythi]

Do you always keep tank temp so high ??

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Ok will have a look now, thank you

I personally do not think a CO2 meter is needed. Fun, yes. needed? No. The simple aeration test gives that same info.

 

[Clownfishy]

I personally do not think a CO2 meter is needed. Fun, yes. needed? No. The simple aeration test gives that same info.

I think one benefit a C02 meter does have is showing how high the C02 levels are in our homes as I was shocked at how high the C02 level was when I first brought mine. It has made me open my windows far more than I used to and although I lose a bit of heat to the outside, it has really helped with the pH in the aquarium and possible our own health!!

One observation I have noticed is the C02 levels increase when the heating kicks in? What would cause this?

 

[14 foot reef]

I personally do not think a CO2 meter is needed. Fun, yes. needed? No. The simple aeration test gives that same info.

Agree with @Randy Holmes-Farley , his co2 test easy easy and free !!!!!!!!!