Low ph

[ychan]

Help! After rescaping and cleaning the tank yesterday, I forgot to turn on the sump pump! Lucky the circulation pump ( vertex ) was on. Check chemistry this morning with light just turn on. PH 7, KH 7, ca 390. My PH is usually 7.7 to 8. Do I need to correct or wait and see. Thanks for the input.

 

[redfishbluefish]

I say testing error.....to get to pH 7 would be darn near impossible unless you've dumped something in there. What are you using to test pH?

 

[ychan]

Salifert, just bought it 2 days ago

 

[Pola0502ds]

I would give tank more time to adjust and get back to normal. If it's doing it for days and days then it might be a problem.

 

[Reefhabit]

One time my tank had a leaky bulkhead and ran the tank just on the circulation pumps without the main pump running for several days without any issues. A pH drop down to 7 seems really low

 

[jml1149]

Chasing pH is never a good idea. I would keep an eye on the tank for a couple hours, let things keep mixing for a bit, and then assess. If the tank looks fine after 6 or so hours, nothing to be done. If you see problems, MAYBE, you could add a little Randy's Two Park Alk (I think recipe 1) beacause 7dKh is low-ish anyway.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The pH didn't drop to 7.

 

[ychan]

Thanks for all comments. So far, all Sps with good polyps extension. I decided to leave it alone except increase my regular two part dosing amounts just a little for few days. We buy another checker and recheck again after work.

 

[ychan]

Chasing pH is never a good idea. I would keep an eye on the tank for a couple hours, let things keep mixing for a bit, and then assess. If the tank looks fine after 6 or so hours, nothing to be done. If you see problems, MAYBE, you could add a little Randy's Two Park Alk (I think recipe 1) beacause 7dKh is low-ish anyway.

I use biopellet and my KH never able to pass 7!! Even I increase my dosaging

 

[ychan]

The pH didn't drop to 7.

I think so too! Buy why?

 

[JonasRoman]

Help! After rescaping and cleaning the tank yesterday, I forgot to turn on the sump pump! Lucky the circulation pump ( vertex ) was on. Check chemistry this morning with light just turn on. PH 7, KH 7, ca 390. My PH is usually 7.7 to 8. Do I need to correct or wait and see. Thanks for the input.

As your low pH is not depending on low dKH(7 dKH is quite normal) but too much CO2, in turn depending of lack of circulation/aeration, you cannot do anything but wait, thus, circulate the water as much as you can, and of course turn skimmer on, and if possible, take air outside to the skimmer. This will fasten the process to ventilate out the excess of CO2. This answer assume that you wrote correct, the pH was falling not dKH, if i understand you correct?

 

[ychan]

Thanks for the info.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I think so too! Buy why?

pH in reef tanks never gets that low except in a critical emergency (like a vinegar overdose, add dry ice to sump, etc.). Live rock and coral skeletons will dissolve and push it back up.

I question whether it is even low, and not just a test error.

 

[ychan]

pH in reef tanks never gets that low except in a critical emergency (like a vinegar overdose, add dry ice to sump, etc.). Live rock and coral skeletons will dissolve and push it back up.

I question whether it is even low, and not just a test error.

Thanks, still at work, unable to recheck!! But, according to my wife, all corals are doing normal & well.

By the way, is dKH 7 and ca 390 are bit too low for reef tank?? The corals seem doing well with good polyp extension. But my reefer friend always told me to increase dKH to 8. I am using biopellet and dosing 2 parts. I am never able to increase much of dKH. May be just need to increase dosing??

 

[ychan]

Sorry, just recheck with the same tester now, PH is 8. I was probably in panic mode this morning and my eye playing trick with me (late at work). Thanks again for all the comments this morning.

 

[JonasRoman]

Sorry, just recheck with the same tester now, PH is 8. I was probably in panic mode this morning and my eye playing trick with me (late at work). Thanks again for all the comments this morning.

Reasonable and the best explanation;-)

 

[JonasRoman]

Thanks, still at work, unable to recheck!! But, according to my wife, all corals are doing normal & well.

By the way, is dKH 7 and ca 390 are bit too low for reef tank?? The corals seem doing well with good polyp extension. But my reefer friend always told me to increase dKH to 8. I am using biopellet and dosing 2 parts. I am never able to increase much of dKH. May be just need to increase dosing??

Concerning optimal dKH i have some considerations:
I am hesitating the Red Sea programme which recommend very high KH. I have observed a connection between high KH and dinoflagelates. We know that marine algue can some of them use HCO3 instead of CO2. This is true about zooxanthell for instance and probably also true concerning some dino. So, more HCO3 is equivalent to more CO2 concerning nutrients for some algue. And if nothing else is lacking this increase in HCO3 may lead to more algue. I have reproduced this several times.

we all know that high dKH in comb with ultralow N o P can cause burned tips. There are two theories of why. The first one, which I doubt, is that the increase in alk Will speed the growth of sceleton more than the soft tissue. I do not think this is the correct explanation because this phenomena comes very quick, much more quickly than the coral sceleton growth.
The other expl I believe more in and that is that the increase in HCO3 accelerates photosynthesis in zooxanthelle(read AA they have proven it) as it is a CO2-equivavlent. The increase in free peroxides, and other photosynthesis product Will acute damage the tip where the photosynthesis rate is very high even in normal case , and as the coral is in nutrients deficiency it has lack of some resistans to this oxidativa stress. This is also only a theory but seems more logic than the first one.

I think that in most cases a dKH of about 8 is nice even in a low nutrient system (but not higher than 8 in these cases).

Jonas Roman
Sweden

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks, still at work, unable to recheck!! But, according to my wife, all corals are doing normal & well.

By the way, is dKH 7 and ca 390 are bit too low for reef tank?? The corals seem doing well with good polyp extension. But my reefer friend always told me to increase dKH to 8. I am using biopellet and dosing 2 parts. I am never able to increase much of dKH. May be just need to increase dosing??

Those are OK. Just don't let them drop much lower. The alk is higher than the ocean, so obviously it is not a big problem being "too low".