Ok so if there is no pH buffer that doesn't also alter KH and assuming that what we are adding is at least contributing to the high KH, would you opt for a slightly lower pH (currently 8.2) to allow the KH to hopefully drop alongside it? Or maybe switch the dosage on it so it's not such a sudden change to shock the tank and halve what we've been adding?
I did wonder about CO2...at one point we did have lots of tiny bubbles on the rocks, especially in the top area of the tank. At the time we had quite a lot of green algae on the rocks but since we got out blue eyed tang and some emerald crabs the algae has pretty much gone and so have the bubbles along with it.
Our tank is in the living room where we also have a log burner stove (as far away from each other as possible). We have a cooler installed which kicks in if temp raises as we were worried about overheating, but I had not thought of the CO2 in relation to this so that's super helpful.
We do have an air stone, so we'll try that test, thank you for that info.
Sorry I should have been clearer about the tap water...we do make our own RO water for our salt water, I just meant that I tested the original source tap water out of curiosity and couldn't believe how low it was as apparently 7-9 is average. I did get a water quality report from our water supplier and apparently everything was within range, although the report didn't actually give pH levels.
Thanks so much for your input, I'll check those things and report back!
