p.h too low

sbazain · Oct 28, 2014

since i moved my tank from one room to another about three months ago i've been having problems with my ph. it won't go pas 8.0 right now is a 7.8 my dkh is at 9 my cal. is 360 po4 is at 0.05 nitrates are at 0 now i don't know if to buffer or not , am using two little fishes a/b but the ph just won't go up about two weeks ago it was at 8.1 but it was for a little while only any advice

Ericsch333 · Oct 28, 2014

Is it a new house I had a lot of problem with my PH because of my home installation I ran a line outside for my skimmer and opened a window to keep fresh are flowing. Now PH 8.10 / 8.20

sbazain · Oct 28, 2014

No and is in a much bigger part of the house do you mean maybe a fan will help

Ericsch333 · Oct 28, 2014

If you have a sump you can point a powerhead up and get the water moving and get a light and leave it on when your main lights go out

sbazain · Oct 28, 2014

I have the light turning off with tank because I dont have any chaeto in there but is growing my coraline algae like crazy maybe so does it matter if I turn it off or not

Ericsch333 · Oct 28, 2014

I have mine a rotating schedule the come on when my main light shut off mine sump light in on from 6:00 pm to 8: am

sbazain · Oct 28, 2014

Am going to change my time and go opposite from the display also I've been seeing that bringing air from the outside brings it up and running it through the skimmer

Ericsch333 · Oct 28, 2014

no just set it to come on when your mains go off
I have my skimmer airline outside and it really help up about .2

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 28, 2014

sbazain said:
since i moved my tank from one room to another about three months ago i've been having problems with my ph. it won't go pas 8.0 right now is a 7.8 my dkh is at 9 my cal. is 360 po4 is at 0.05 nitrates are at 0 now i don't know if to buffer or not , am using two little fishes a/b but the ph just won't go up about two weeks ago it was at 8.1 but it was for a little while only any advice

Don't "buffer". It is never a good way to boost pH, and only ends with excessive alkalinity.

FWIW, if the pH stays above pH 7.8, you are fine.

In order to boost pH, the best options are using limewater instead of the two part to supplement calcium and alkalinity, more fresh air brought to the aquarium, or growing a large amount of macroalgae in a reverse lit sump.

This has more:

Low pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

sbazain · Oct 28, 2014

Actualy today when I get home from work am going to work on vringing more air into the aquarium now my question is where can I bring it through the skimmer or put a fan

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 28, 2014

The skimmer is often the best way to bring air, unless you can refresh the whole room.

FWIW, it is not usually a matter of bring more of the same room air, but fresher, outside air. Indoor air often has elevated CO2 and more aeration with indoor air might even lower the pH further if the house is fairly tight.

The article shows how to distinguish whether you just need more aeration, or fresher air.

sbazain · Oct 28, 2014

Am going to read it when I get home tonight thanks will let you know what happens

Randy Holmes-Farley · Oct 29, 2014

You're welcome.

Good luck.

Diesel · Oct 29, 2014

Bringing air from outside is always positive to raise PH.
PH has always a low and high level, in the morning it can be at the lowest but when lights turn on it will go up.
Do you know your low and high?
As Randy mentioned I would chase my PH# to much, you want your PH stable everyday.
I've seen awesome tanks that the PH on average is 7.9 for a month
My ph is in the morning 7.85 but late afternoon 8.1 and all is great in the tank.

sbazain · Nov 3, 2014

Finally my ph started going up I took randy's advice and opened the whole house this week end since it was a little cooler this weekend here in miami and i took a reading today and it went up from 7.8 to 8.2 I took the reading at the same time as always also yesterday I added a wave maker to the sump as you know my sump is just a sump no baffles would that make a difference too.