Low pH before fish or coral

[MjOB]

Hello, I am in the initial setup for my tank - no fish or coral or anything yet, so lights are also not on. My tank just finished cycling about a week ago. I just got my Apex setup and my pH was only 7.4. I angled a powerhead towards the surface and opened the doors to my canopy to encourage better exchange for a few days and have gotten to only 7.62.

Is doing a water change the best move to increase it? Is there something else I should be doing right now? I made my saltwater with Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt Mix. My salt is at 34.60. Temp has been stable at 76.8-77.0

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

Hello, I am in the initial setup for my tank - no fish or coral or anything yet, so lights are also not on. My tank just finished cycling about a week ago. I just got my Apex setup and my pH was only 7.4. I angled a powerhead towards the surface and opened the doors to my canopy to encourage better exchange for a few days and have gotten to only 7.62.

Is doing a water change the best move to increase it? Is there something else I should be doing right now? I made my saltwater with Tropic Marin Pro Reef Salt Mix. My salt is at 34.60. Temp has been stable at 76.8-77.0

Try taking some water out of the tank, measuring the pH and then aerate it heavily for 12+ hours and measure it again. If you get a rise, then there is still more CO2 that needs to be off-gassed.
Jay

 

[MjOB]

Try taking some water out of the tank, measuring the pH and then aerate it heavily for 12+ hours and measure it again. If you get a rise, then there is still more CO2 that needs to be off-gassed.
Jay

To be more specific on your rec, are you saying filling a 5 gallon bucket with it, testing, and then running a pump in it for 12+ hours, and checking it again? Or is there a better way to aerate it heavily?

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

To be more specific on your rec, are you saying filling a 5 gallon bucket with it, testing, and then running a pump in it for 12+ hours, and checking it again? Or is there a better way to aerate it heavily?

You don’t need to use 5 gallons, half gallon would do. Don’t use a circulating pump, you need a strong air stone running off an air pump.
Jay