PH IS LOW

marine2463 · Mar 22, 2016

my question is I can't get my ph past 7.7 I have the line of my protein skimmer running outside getting fresh air it's been 24 hours and no increase
PH 7.7
Cal. 430
Mag 1330
ALK 12
I use instant ocean reef crystal salt

marine2463 · Mar 22, 2016

I don't want to try a buffer because my ALK is already high. Any suggestions on increasing it ?

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 22, 2016

How are you measuring pH?

Did you try the aeration test?

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

The Aeration Test

Some of the possibilities listed above require some effort to diagnose. Problems 3 and 4 are quite common, and here is a way to distinguish them. Remove a cup of tank water and measure the pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. The pH should rise if the pH is unusually low for the measured alkalinity, as in Figure 3 (if it does not rise, most likely one of the measurements (pH or alkalinity) is in error). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If the pH rises there too, then the aquarium pH will rise with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise inside (or rises very little), then the inside air contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should).

jsker · Mar 22, 2016

I ran my air lines from out side of the house to my protein skimmer and my PH went up, To much CO2 and getting fresh air into the system.

marine2463 · Mar 22, 2016

I'm using the saliferf ph test kit
I have not tried the aeration test though ,I'll give it a shot and get back to you
Thanks for the info !!!!!

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 22, 2016

In general, I am not a fan of pH kits since they cannot be checked for accuracy and may be misleading as they get old.

If the pH does not rise into the 8's with aeration with outside air, I suspect a kit problem.