PH and Alkalinity Question

[ForEverOnTheRoad]

Thanks in Advance. Not sure if I have an issue. Fish (9) and Corals (several small Frags 1 LPS and 4 Polyps) seem to be doing well, but I have PH around 7.9 and High Alkalinty 14. Can't seem to raise the PH with Balance or 8.4. Spikes higher but goes down over an hour or so. Any thoughts on how to slowly raise the PH a bit and lower the Alkalinity? Or should I just be patient?

So My 65 gallon with a 20 gallon sump. 80 lbs of LR and 3" of sand. It is newer as in only 60 days old. Other measurements are
Nitrate 4
Ammonia 0
Phosphate 0.02
Nitrite 1
Calcium 365
Magnesium 1600
Alkalinity 14
PH 7.9

 

[Labridaedicted]

One piece of advice I can give you is don't chase ph. It's hard to really have an effect long term on it and 7.9 is not abnormal. Especially if you're using a calcium reactor. That's actually about where mine stays.

Your alk is very high, for sure at 14. You're going to want to lay off (reduce or stop for a bit) your alk dosing until you get down below 10. What kind of test kits are you using? I'd wager if you drop your alk, your ph will stay pretty stable.

 

[nautical_nathaniel]

I would stop trying to adjust the pH and let alkalinity come down. 7.9 isn't bad in terms of pH, mine has always been 7.9-8.0. What salt brand are you using that is giving you such high alkalinity, or are you dosing? Your magnesium is also pretty high.

None of this is life threatening in terms of what you have in the tank now, it just needs some slow adjustments with a tank that small, regular water changes will remedy most of these problems.

 

[Labridaedicted]

Another thing to note is that in winter when our houses are all sealed up, we tend to have lower ph due to co2 build up in the house (furnace running more and windows stay closed).

 

[ForEverOnTheRoad]

One piece of advice I can give you is don't chase ph. It's hard to really have an effect long term on it and 7.9 is not abnormal. Especially if you're using a calcium reactor. That's actually about where mine stays.

Your alk is very high, for sure at 14. You're going to want to lay off (reduce or stop for a bit) your alk dosing until you get down below 10. What kind of test kits are you using? I'd wager if you drop your alk, your ph will stay pretty stable.

Thanks. That's kind of what I thought. I use Red Sail test kits.

 

[ForEverOnTheRoad]

I would stop trying to adjust the pH and let alkalinity come down. 7.9 isn't bad in terms of pH, mine has always been 7.9-8.0. What salt brand are you using that is giving you such high alkalinity, or are you dosing? Your magnesium is also pretty high.

None of this is life threatening in terms of what you have in the tank now, it just needs some slow adjustments with a tank that small, regular water changes will remedy most of these problems.

Thanks. I was hoping that nothing was fatal and just need to be patient.

 

[WWIII]

Your calcium is low with a high alk of 14. What salt are you using? The parameters aren't horrible, but kinda interesting calcium is low, while alkalinity and magnesium are very high.

Ph of 7.9 is fine

 

[ForEverOnTheRoad]

Your calcium is low with a high alk of 14. What salt are you using? The parameters aren't horrible, but kinda interesting calcium is low, while alkalinity and magnesium are very high.

Ph of 7.9 is fine

I am using Instant Ocean. Was thinking about switching to LiveAquaria Reff salt. Any other suggestions?

 

[ForEverOnTheRoad]

And I just dosed a little bit of Calc Last night after I took measurements. So it may be fine now.

 

[WWIII]

I am using Instant Ocean. Was thinking about switching to LiveAquaria Reff salt. Any other suggestions?

Instant ocean Reef Crystals? I think the parameters listed on live aquaria salt are great, I actually think it's Fritz RPM salt relabeled, which is what I am using currently. As long as the batches remain consistent I think you and your tank will be much happier at those levels in the long run. You shouldn't have to dose anything for a long time, just do regular waterchanges.

 

[WWIII]

Welcome to R2R BTW!

 

[ForEverOnTheRoad]

Instant ocean Reef Crystals? I think the parameters listed on live aquaria salt are great, I actually think it's Fritz RPM salt relabeled, which is what I am using currently. As long as the batches remain consistent I think you and your tank will be much happier at those levels in the long run. You shouldn't have to dose anything for a long time, just do regular waterchanges.

No not the Reef one. Will definitely switch to that. Had a bucket given to me so it was the right $$ to get going.

 

[WWIII]

No not the Reef one. Will definitely switch to that. Had a bucket given to me so it was the right $$ to get going.

That is really high alkalinity for regular instant ocean. I wonder if the 8.4 buffer is affecting the test. Regardless your tank looks good and should be fine.