PH Buffer Needed ?

[Ober_Reef]

Hello All,

For the last few weeks my PH has been slightly under 8.0, I believe the change could be due to me not having to dose lately. I normally dose BRS two part but since I watched the BRS video on Red Sea Coral Pro salt I have followed the tips pertaining to mixing time and temp and my Alk, Calcium, and Magnesium have stayed constant in healthy ranges. Just wondering if I should start to address my PH and if so what the best way to go about it would be. I currently just have Zoanthids, and Monti Cap, and an Ausie Acan all of which are doing well but my goal is to grow SPS when my tank is ready.

 

[Jekyl]

Hello All,

For the last few weeks my PH has been slightly under 8.0, I believe the change could be due to me not having to dose lately. I normally dose BRS two part but since I watched the BRS video on Red Sea Coral Pro salt I have followed the tips pertaining to mixing time and temp and my Alk, Calcium, and Magnesium have stayed constant in healthy ranges. Just wondering if I should start to address my PH and if so what the best way to go about it would be. I currently just have Zoanthids, and Monti Cap, and an Ausie Acan all of which are doing well but my goal is to grow SPS when my tank is ready.

Have a skimmer? Can run the air inlet outdoors.

 

[Ober_Reef]

Have a skimmer? Can run the air inlet outdoors.

Yes I have a reef octopus, how would this work ?

 

[Jekyl]

Yes I have a reef octopus, how would this work ?

Where ever your air inlet is, just simply get some tubing and run it outside through a window or vent. That way the air being introduced to the skimmer is from outside rather than in your home where it's being recirculated.

 

[blasterman]

There is no such thing as pH buffer and your salt mix has nothing to do with pH nor how much calcium or alk is being consumed.

If you were consuming alk or calcium you could use kalk to bring up pH or soda ash, but you need to be consuming calcium and alk for those to be an option.

Like jekyl says you can try running outside air into your skimmer and see if that can buff pH up a little.

 

[arking_mark]

In the reef aquarium, your pH/Alk/CO2 are directly tied together.

Without going into the science or equations, your pH is determined by your CO2 levels and Alkalinity.

Randy has a great article on this:

pH and the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION

by Randy Holmes-Farley For many aquarists, pH is not something that they have much experience with aside from their aquarium. For many, pH is almost a black box measurement: something to be considered, but whose physical meaning makes little sense to them. This article will Read more here...

www.reefedition.com

It's hard to control your indoor CO2 levels which are typically much higher then what you find outdoors. Just the number of people, pets, and other factors can greatly change this level from day to day.

So most pH problems are due to high CO2 house levels. You can test this with a cup aeration test. Aerate a cup of your tank water outside and measure pH and then aerate a cup of tank water next to your tank.

If your outdoor pH is higher, then you have higher CO2 levels in the house.

If your next to tank levels are higher, your tank needs more aeration.

Note that both of these can be true.

There are many ways to raise pH in your tank. However, many reefers are successful with pH between 7.8 and above.

A skimmer is essentially really good at aerating your tank and getting to the natural pH levels of your house CO2.

Here are several ways to raise your pH if your CO2 levels are higher in your home:
1. Crack open a window in tour tank room
2. Keep your Alk level very high 11-12ish
3. Using outdoor or CO2 scrubbed air for your skimmer
4. Use high-pH supplements (Kalkwasser or high-pH 2-part)
5. Reverse lighting schedule refugium

 

[Tamberav]

Many pH buffers are basically bottled alk so you raise your alk when you dose it and the pH effect is temporary so this leads to swings and more dosing and messes with your alk.

CO2 scrubbers and running airline outside or such are methods to raise pH although 7.8 and higher is fine. Your pH will rise and fall throughout the day/night as well so different testing times can give you different results.

I personally don’t care what my pH is I certainly never test it on my nanos. It simply doesn’t matter.

 

[Ober_Reef]

Thanks all !! This is great stuff, yes the lowest I have really seen it is about 7.8. The reason I brought up the salt mix is because I test on maintenance day and I figured replacing dirty water with new properly mixed salt water has to improve my parameters in some form. Previously (before the Coral Pro video) I was mixing forty gallons at a time and I only change 5 gallons a week so the salt sat and mixed for weeks. Unfortunately my tank is in a room with a large bay window that doesn’t open so it seems my best option is to raise my Alk slightly if I address the PH at all at this point. My Alk has stayed pretty stable around 8.6 since I started mixing 5 gallons at a time two hours before the water change at a lower temp.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There is no such thing as pH buffer and your salt mix has nothing to do with pH nor how much calcium or alk is being consumed.

Let's please not confuse people with incorrect statements that are unhelpful.

You probably meant to say that all buffers are also alkalinity supplements, and that the salt mix impacts the rate of alk and calcium decline mostly through the alkalinity, since pH (a big driver of the alk and calcium consumption rate) is not typically driven by the salt mix except as it impacts alkalinity.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thanks all !! This is great stuff, yes the lowest I have really seen it is about 7.8. The reason I brought up the salt mix is because I test on maintenance day and I figured replacing dirty water with new properly mixed salt water has to improve my parameters in some form. Previously (before the Coral Pro video) I was mixing forty gallons at a time and I only change 5 gallons a week so the salt sat and mixed for weeks. Unfortunately my tank is in a room with a large bay window that doesn’t open so it seems my best option is to raise my Alk slightly if I address the PH at all at this point. My Alk has stayed pretty stable around 8.6 since I started mixing 5 gallons at a time two hours before the water change at a lower temp.

I discuss ways to raise pH here:

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

 

[Ober_Reef]

I discuss ways to raise pH here:

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

Thank you!