Low ph 7.6-7.8 HELP! Newbie here

[luvsmyhorse]

Hi all,

I have a 90 gallown bowfront reef tank that has dropped ph over a week to around 7.8.
I am fighting a medium outbreak of dinos, and on day 3 of blackout. Starting H2O2 dosing today also.

Corals and fish look fine and happy.
How do I go about getting the pH up safely?

I have a system of bioball/filter layers in a big acrylic "tank", and a really big skimmer that works really well.
I bought the setup established, and the guy just had it for a year, having purchased it established from someone else, on "autopilot" and didn't know much about the
filtration or anything else with the filtration. There is a Little Fishies phosban reactor hooked up that he never did
anything with, or changed any media. I don't know yet either.

I have a lot I need to do to learn more about this tank and I know I want to change the bioball system out to a
fuge like I had on my last 126 gallon tank.

I am getting overwhelmed and could really use some advice.

Thank you so much for your time,
Barb in Texas

 

[CTMarinelife]

Water changes are the most natural way to keep your ph stable. I do 10% water changes a week. Have your water tested to see which elements are not in the normal range and this will explain some of your other issues.

 

[Reefnjunkie]

I run a calcium reactor myself and can swings this time of year (with the windows and doors being closed) as low as 7.65 at night and highs in the 7.95 during the day.
I gave up chasing the perfect PH number long ago after I relized it (in my tank-thats my disclaimer) does not matter.
Like you stated the corals nd fish look fine, my SPS look great my fish are healthy.

You may want to have the water tested by someone else that has a different kit, maybe yours is not reading accurtely-that is if you really decide you have to get the PH higher.

There are many ways to raise it but first you need to determine the cause of the drop, ie calcium reactor, bad test kit, energy efficient room trapping co2 etc

I should add during the summer when the doors/windows open up I see my ph go to 8.0 nighttime to 8.3 pr so in the day when the lights are on.

 

[Murfman]

+1 Reefnjunkie! What kind of test kit are you using to get your pH reading? Here is a good read on pH; Low pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

 

[VegasRick]

What time of day are you testing pH? I wouldn't worry much about pH as long as your alkalinity is in the proper range.. 8 dkh or higher. I personally never test pH