Pridedcloth3
Active Member
Guys I have a guy I have a guy battling crazy low ph and he's losing the battle. I have him coming over and it's beyond my knowledge so if you can help him out
Low ph
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Pridedcloth3
Active Member
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Matt Bravo
Well-Known Member
Surface agitation helped me bring my ph up really nicely, I hadn’t tested in a while so it was like at 7.7 but I moved my wave maker higher about 2 weeks ago, tested today and it came up to 8.1.
Miami Reef
10K Club Member
We need more information.
How is he measuring his pH? It should be measured with a calibrated 2 point probe (7pH and 10pH solutions if it’s for a reef tank).
There are many ways to increase pH.
More surface agitation
Opening windows
Dosing carbonates (smaller boost) or hydroxides (larger boost) to maintain alkalinity.
Run skimmer air intake to outside or a CO2 scrubber.
Grow photosynthetic organisms in a refugium, algae scrubber etc
Some of these may not work, or even work against you, depending on the cause of your pH issue. If the alkalinity is around 7-11dKH, low pH issues is almost always from high CO2.
How is he measuring his pH? It should be measured with a calibrated 2 point probe (7pH and 10pH solutions if it’s for a reef tank).
There are many ways to increase pH.
More surface agitation
Opening windows
Dosing carbonates (smaller boost) or hydroxides (larger boost) to maintain alkalinity.
Run skimmer air intake to outside or a CO2 scrubber.
Grow photosynthetic organisms in a refugium, algae scrubber etc
Some of these may not work, or even work against you, depending on the cause of your pH issue. If the alkalinity is around 7-11dKH, low pH issues is almost always from high CO2.
Miami Reef
10K Club Member
@oscar81
It’s possible, but unlikely your pH is that low. I’d first recommend recalibrating your probe, using the 7 and 10 pH solutions. Neptune Apex sells them, as well as other brands, like Milwaukee.
The first step to solving a low-pH-issue is making sure you have a low pH issue in the first place. Probes need to be routinely calibrated for accurate results.
It’s possible, but unlikely your pH is that low. I’d first recommend recalibrating your probe, using the 7 and 10 pH solutions. Neptune Apex sells them, as well as other brands, like Milwaukee.
The first step to solving a low-pH-issue is making sure you have a low pH issue in the first place. Probes need to be routinely calibrated for accurate results.
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Pridedcloth3
Active Member
I mentioned that to him not sure if and when he did it yet
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Miami Reef
10K Club Member
Can you explain how you did the calibration process? A difference of .2 is large.
Randy Holmes-Farley
Reef Chemist
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My Tank Thread
I would not be sure the pH 7.65 is accurate, but I suggest trying this aeration test:
http://www.reefedition.com/ph-and-the-reef-aquarium/
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.
http://www.reefedition.com/ph-and-the-reef-aquarium/
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.
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Pridedcloth3
Active Member
Told you you'd get an answer hereAmazing, I just opened the windows for an hour.
