pH drop while KH stay stable... very strange...

[Yehuda Dana]

I keep my KH stable on 8.5 dKH.
pH used to be 8.4-8.6.

Testing the pH with Hanna digital tester showed 7.7...

How come pH drops while KH stays stable?

 

[Illini_Drew33]

I keep my dhk at 8.5 as well. I monitor ph very closely through an apex and while alk definitely helps with stability the ph can fluctuate a lot During the day my pH gets to about 8.4 and it would come down to around 7.9 or 8 during the nights. I then added a co2 scrubber to my skimmer so it never goes below 8.2 during the nights. I've also noticed when we have a bunch of people over to the house breathing a lot of co2 out that my ph drops really fast and again the scrubber has to keep it at that 8.2 level if not my ph would drop to 7.7 or 7.8. Lastly as much as I can I leave the window open near my tank b/c that helps maintain a much higher ph by getting that oxygen. Not a super scientific answer but that has been my experience.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Not sure what you mean by stable. Your pH may be stable at 7.7.

If you mean low, pH is determined by CO2 and alkalinity. pH does vary a lot day to night, and varies depending on what else is happening in the home.

 

[Yehuda Dana]

Not sure what you mean by stable. Your pH may be stable at 7.7.

If you mean low, pH is determined by CO2 and alkalinity. pH does vary a lot day to night, and varies depending on what else is happening in the home.

I ment that pH droped to 7.7 (usually was 8.4-8.6). Stability on KH with 8.5 dKH.

Per above answers, I understand that the root cause might be wrong gas exchange.
Will adding Ozonizer will solve this?

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I ment that pH droped to 7.7 (usually was 8.4-8.6). Stability on KH with 8.5 dKH.

Per above answers, I understand that the root cause might be wrong gas exchange.
Will adding Ozonizer will solve this?

I vote gas exchange as well. usually the simplest answer is the best...run an outside airline into your protein skimmer. Pretty much the first thing people do to try and fix this situation and it only costs a few bucks and an afternoon.

 

[Yehuda Dana]

I vote gas exchange as well. usually the simplest answer is the best...run an outside airline into your protein skimmer. Pretty much the first thing people do to try and fix this situation and it only costs a few bucks and an afternoon.

Thank you.

I am using BK 200 mini skimmer.
I am not sure I understand what should I do and how regarding "run outside airline into your protein skimmer"..

 

[Dburr1014]

Thank you.

I am using BK 200 mini skimmer.
I am not sure I understand what should I do and how regarding "run outside airline into your protein skimmer"..

The skimmer injects air. Where the air goes in, add a small hose. The other end of that hose is outside. Now your skimmer pulls air from the outside.

 

[Yehuda Dana]

The skimmer injects air. Where the air goes in, add a small hose. The other end of that hose is outside. Now your skimmer pulls air from the outside.

Ok, now it is clear to me (sorry for my English).
Will do.
Thank you

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I ment that pH droped to 7.7 (usually was 8.4-8.6). Stability on KH with 8.5 dKH.

Per above answers, I understand that the root cause might be wrong gas exchange.
Will adding Ozonizer will solve this?

No, ozone does not raise pH, and it is highly unlikely to be 8.4 to 8.6 unless you are taking significant efforts to raise it.

 

[Illini_Drew33]

Id recommend looking into a co2 scrubber as well.

 

[Yehuda Dana]

I noticed at the end of the dark lighting time (meaning, after night, just before aquarium lights turns on) that some of my damaged frags spit out mucus. It might looks like very small cotton balls, or like very thin white wire getting out of the frag's tip.

Is it due to the pH drop?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I noticed at the end of the dark lighting time (meaning, after night, just before aquarium lights turns on) that some of my damaged frags spit out mucus. It might looks like very small cotton balls, or like very thin white wire getting out of the frag's tip.

Is it due to the pH drop?

I don't think so.

 

[Yehuda Dana]

I don't think so.

Thank you, Sir.

I am willing to learn, and will be thankful to read your opinion regarding the root cause of the problem I described.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Thank you, Sir.

I am willing to learn, and will be thankful to read your opinion regarding the root cause of the problem I described.

You talking about the white material from the corals?

 

[Yehuda Dana]

You talking about the white material from the corals?

Yes, please.
What is it?
What caused it?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Yes, please.
What is it?
What caused it?

Hard to say without a picture or video. Even then I'm not a coral biology expert.

Sliming of irritated/damaged corals is pretty typical, however. Also when feeding.

sps slime

Why do my sps corals slime when I feed the tank? I read some about it and people said its a defense mechanism but that does not seem reasonable. All I feed the tank is Reef frenzy.

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