PH and KH

[NFS0331]

Hey guys, recently I been cycling my tank with Red Sea pro kit, and its going great. I noticed some weird creature coming off the rocks which I think is a good sign. the only problem is my PH is low, and my KH is like 300!!

I have 2 hydro pumps with smart wave but I have them point down. maybe if I point them toward the surface it will help increase my ph??

and how can I lower my KH? I did water change and still nothing.

any suggestions on increasing my ph and lowering KH will be greatly appreciated

I have no fish or anything yet. I am on the 3rd day of my cycle.

 

[rockstarta78]

Hi! Your ALK is 300 dKh??? or do you mean you calc is 300? Since it's been only 3 days of cycling, I wouldn't worry too much about anything besides Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. And surface agitation can increase your Ph. Also if you have outside air coming in that could also increase you Ph. There are verious ways you can achieve your Ph of 8.1-8.3, you could use Kalkwasser (I wouldn't worry about that right now), you could hook up your skimmer to an outside airline, you could run a CO2 scrubber etc etc etc. You would have to play with your powerhead setting to see what position works best with your rockwork. If you plan on going SPS route, you will need very erratic random water flow. IMO powerhead should also help keep detritus afloat so they can be skimmed out quicker. So to answer you question, you could point your powerheads towards the surface and see the result over next few days.

In all honesty, I wouldn't go chasing numbers right now. I'd say let the tank cycle. Good luck!

 

[GoVols]

Hey guys, recently I been cycling my tank with Red Sea pro kit, and its going great. I noticed some weird creature coming off the rocks which I think is a good sign. the only problem is my PH is low, and my KH is like 300!!

I have 2 hydro pumps with smart wave but I have them point down. maybe if I point them toward the surface it will help increase my ph??

and how can I lower my KH? I did water change and still nothing.

any suggestions on increasing my ph and lowering KH will be greatly appreciated

I have no fish or anything yet. I am on the 3rd day of my cycle.

You could have trapped in Co2 in your home.
Co2 is a ph killer.

Can you pour some of your displays water in a cup / take it outside with an pump and air stone and let it bubble out the Co2 / and recheck that cup's ph in about an hour?

 

[NFS0331]

Hi! Your ALK is 300 dKh??? or do you mean you calc is 300? Since it's been only 3 days of cycling, I wouldn't worry too much about anything besides Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate. And surface agitation can increase your Ph. Also if you have outside air coming in that could also increase you Ph. There are verious ways you can achieve your Ph of 8.1-8.3, you could use Kalkwasser (I wouldn't worry about that right now), you could hook up your skimmer to an outside airline, you could run a CO2 scrubber etc etc etc. You would have to play with your powerhead setting to see what position works best with your rockwork. If you plan on going SPS route, you will need very erratic random water flow. IMO powerhead should also help keep detritus afloat so they can be skimmed out quicker. So to answer you question, you could point your powerheads towards the surface and see the result over next few days.

In all honesty, I wouldn't go chasing numbers right now. I'd say let the tank cycle. Good luck!

I don't have a skimmer and I am not planning on running one. and I think its over 290ppm. I think I need like 16 drops to turn the solution to the required color. so I don't know whats that exactly so I think I am good with the KH. . so the only thing is the PH. but sounds good I will wait until there cycle over and then recheck

 

[NFS0331]

You could have trapped in Co2 in your home.
Co2 is a ph killer.

Can you pour some of your displays water in a cup / take it outside with an pump and air stone and let it bubble out the Co2 / and recheck that cup's ph in about an hour?

I don't have CO2 in my house cus my detectors would have detect anything. and yes I will take some water in a cup but what u mean a pump and air stone it??

 

[GoVols]

I don't have CO2 in my house cus my detectors would have detect anything. and yes I will take some water in a cup but what u mean a pump and air stone it??

You got it and do it outside your home, then re-test it's ph.

 

[NFS0331]

You got it and do it outside your home, then re-test it's ph.

Wait I am confused what u mean by pump and air stone it?????!!! Just put the cup outside? It’s really cold outside lol

 

[GoVols]

Wait I am confused what u mean by pump and air stone it?????!!! Just put the cup outside? It’s really cold outside lol

Yeah,
Pour some of your display's water into a cup / grab an air pump and air stone / aerate the cup outside for about an hour and re-test it's ph.

If your above freezing then it will work for the test and (lol) you don't have to stay out there with it

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Wait I am confused what u mean by pump and air stone it?????!!! Just put the cup outside? It’s really cold outside lol

That's the intent, since your home air likely has elevated levels of CO2, but it isn't always possible.

Your "detectors" are for CO, carbon monoxide, not CO2.

You do not mention what the pH is and more than likely it is either OK or a test error, but regardless, we can deal with it later. It's never an emergency.

Let's focus on the alkalinity, which is an issue at 290 ppm calcium carbonate equivalents.

Are you using tap water?

Have you added any chemicals to the tank water?

 

[NFS0331]

Yeah,
Pour some of your display's water into a cup / grab an air pump and air stone / aerate the cup outside for about an hour and re-test it's ph.

If your above freezing then it will work for the test and (lol) you don't have to stay out there with it

I don’t have air pump and air stone... lol can I just pour it in a cup and leave it outside? How long U leave it outside for ?

 

[GoVols]

I don’t have air pump and air stone... lol can I just pour it in a cup and leave it outside? How long U leave it outside for ?

Don't worry about it.

(lol)
I'd just answer Randy's post in full detail. He is the world's water chemistry Jedi master.

 

[NFS0331]

hey guys quick question. I am doing the Red Sea pro kit, and it says at this level I am at nitrite should be 0.1 and nitrate should be between 10-15. when I did the stripes test it giving me 200ppm nitrate and 5.0 nitrite!!! thats from matching the color form the test strips... whats going on ? I am confused and nervous why its so high

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Can you clarify what you mean by "nitrite should be"? Who says it should be a particular value?

Ignoring that issue, if you have 5 ppm nitrite, many nitrate kits will give nitrate way too high. With some, that 5 ppm nitrite would incorrectly read as 500 ppm nitrate.

 

[NFS0331]

Can you clarify what you mean by "nitrite should be"? Who says it should be a particular value?

Ignoring that issue, if you have 5 ppm nitrite, many nitrate kits will give nitrate way too high. With some, that 5 ppm nitrite would incorrectly read as 500 ppm nitrate.

the manual in the Red Sea pro mature kit. oh so the kits will just say its huge but its actually not?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I'm not sure what exactly you started with, but unless you used only clean dead rock and cycled it with ammonia, there's n one tyhat can predict how much nitrogen is going to come off the rock you have and end up as nitrate.

I know from the manufacturers that Tropic Marine and Salifert nitrate kits will read a little nitrite as a lot of nitrate, and I've heard it applies to all nitrate kits where the color turns pink. So yes to the question about nitrate being lower than you think.

i'd just keep monitoring, and if nitrite stays high, maybe add another type of bacteria, like Dr Tims.

 

[NFS0331]

hey guys, almost done with the cycling, changed the water twice and now it seem that the nitrite and nitrate is going down by it self which is great sign. everything else looks good but still the PH is low. I have 2 pumps inside that circulate the water and I even have air pump inside the water to put more oxygen and my PH still not that good. what really do I need to do to increase this??

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

hey guys, almost done with the cycling, changed the water twice and now it seem that the nitrite and nitrate is going down by it self which is great sign. everything else looks good but still the PH is low. I have 2 pumps inside that circulate the water and I even have air pump inside the water to put more oxygen and my PH still not that good. what really do I need to do to increase this??

pH has nothing to do with oxygen and everything to do with carbon dioxide. If you have elevated indoor CO2 levels (very common), then the aeration will keep pH low.

There is likely nothing you should do at this point, but what is the pH?

 

[NFS0331]

hmm ok, my PH is 7.8 right now.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

pH 7.8 is OK and I wouldn't make it a priority to try to raise it now. Maybe later after everything else is humming along just fine.

This has more:


pH And The Reef Aquarium
http://www.reefedition.com/ph-and-the-reef-aquarium/

 

[DarrylJ]

the manual in the Red Sea pro mature kit. oh so the kits will just say its huge but its actually not?

I had the same problem you having Stop using the Redsea Pro us the redsea blue bucket to low your waters Chem. The Pro is for growing corals fast with less coloring Blue bucket grows at normal rate but with better coloring for your corals. But the biggest thing you need to do is wait for the cycle to end. before trying any new turn off light keep it in the dark and a little food to the tank and letting it go throw it break down.