i have high alk and low ph. what do i do i need help

[evgibb]

i have high alk and low ph. what do i do? i need help i am using rodi pre mix saltwater specific gravity 1.025 ....i had the water tested last night and they said my alkalinity was danger high and my sps is bleaching .....but my ph is low at 7.8 everything else is stable mag and cal stable .i need help to fix this before my acro and monti croak .75 gal tank . metal halide 150 watt lighting dual fixture also my anemones are not looking so hot
...i was using reef buffer to raise ph to 8.3.. i think it over shot my alk and now the ph is still low and alk is high and my acro looks horrible

 

[cdness]

More than likely your PH is low for the same reason as mine it... I have a higher amount of CO2 in the air which causes the PH to drop. Stop adding buffers for PH as you will get into the danger high alk. Are you testing alk on your own while adding the buffer or just using an LFS kit?

If you have a skimmer, run the air line to an outside window. This will provide a better oxygen level to the skimmer intake.

Another option is a CO2 scrubber. There are many DIY and commercial kits out there, but the media gets expensive...

In the end as long as the PH is STABLE, 7.8 is not all that bad of a number. Mine runs 7.6 - 7.8 all the time. I recently tried a CO2 scrubber and it did raise my PH but was exhausted in less than a week... Media can be regenerated, but man it will get expensive.

 

[StikHedRon]

I would quit worrying about ph and concentrate on getting your alk at a acceptable and stable level.

 

[evgibb]

i am much more worried about the alk as my sps look like garbage

 

[evgibb]

i actually just got around to setting up my skimmer and its running now i got it up this morning

 

[Reefing Madness]

i am much more worried about the alk as my sps look like garbage

ALK can be lowered using Muriatic Acid and a medicinal syringe.
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/reef-chemistry-forum/131296-high-alkalinity.html
The "acidity" (that being essentially negative alkalinity) of muriatic acid straight from the bottle is about 11,000 meq/L.

So adding 1/11,000 of the water volume as this acid will drop alkalinity by 1 meq/l (2.8 dKH).

You want a drop of 13-7 = 6 dKH, or 2.1 times that amount, so you'd add 1/5,100th of the water volume.

13 gallons ~ 49 L

1/5100 of 49 L = 9.6 mL

So I'd add 5 ml and stir well for a few minutes and see what alkalinity you get. Then dose again assuming it seems on the right track.

You'll need to aerate well after adding the acid to blow off the excess CO2 and bring up the pH.
Quote taken from Randal Holmes-Farley