PH Low, DKH High 6 Gallon Nano/Pico

[bondo]

Experienced w FOWLR, but first reef tank. And I decided to do a desktop nano. I have 3 LPS frags and 3 softies (just added a week ago). There's also a clown, a goby and skunk shrimp (been in there 4 months. I know I'm pushing it but Amonia and Nitrite are consistently 0, Nitrate is 10 - 15. PH has been 7.8 since tank finished cycling, it's 5 months running. I had DKH of 7.8, PH 7.8 so tried sodium bicarbonate, fixed the DKH to 8.2. Then tried Seachchem Reef Buffer to get PH up to 8.3 which worked but DKH went up to 8.7. PH sank quickly to 7.8 again. Then I used some Seachem reef complete to get my Calcium up from 360 to 380, but that drove DKH to 9.5. I'd like figure out a daily dose to maintain that PH near 8.2 but not drive the DKH up too far. Kalkwaser would be my next go to but the tank is so small 6 Gallon cube, and has glass lid so not much evaporation. I ordered some Soda Ash and Calcium Chloride from BRS. Going to try to figure out a dose on those. Aeration made no difference, I know my space is full of C02, it's a basement home office, and the tank is next to my desk. I don't have a skimmer so a line to the outside isn't happening. Am I on the right track with the 2 part? Or any better ideas? Also, I could switch to a better salt, I was using Instant Ocean.

Numbers today are
DKH Calc PH SG
9.5 380 7.8 1.026

Thanks,

 

[Danireef13699]

Experienced w FOWLR, but first reef tank. And I decided to do a desktop nano. I have 3 LPS frags and 3 softies (just added a week ago). There's also a clown, a goby and skunk shrimp (been in there 4 months. I know I'm pushing it but Amonia and Nitrite are consistently 0, Nitrate is 10 - 15. PH has been 7.8 since tank finished cycling, it's 5 months running. I had DKH of 7.8, PH 7.8 so tried sodium bicarbonate, fixed the DKH to 8.2. Then tried Seachchem Reef Buffer to get PH up to 8.3 which worked but DKH went up to 8.7. PH sank quickly to 7.8 again. Then I used some Seachem reef complete to get my Calcium up from 360 to 380, but that drove DKH to 9.5. I'd like figure out a daily dose to maintain that PH near 8.2 but not drive the DKH up too far. Kalkwaser would be my next go to but the tank is so small 6 Gallon cube, and has glass lid so not much evaporation. I ordered some Soda Ash and Calcium Chloride from BRS. Going to try to figure out a dose on those. Aeration made no difference, I know my space is full of C02, it's a basement home office, and the tank is next to my desk. I don't have a skimmer so a line to the outside isn't happening. Am I on the right track with the 2 part? Or any better ideas? Also, I could switch to a better salt, I was using Instant Ocean.

Numbers today are
DKH Calc PH SG
9.5 380 7.8 1.026

Thanks,

I would recommend buying some Dragons Breath seaweed and put it in your sump with a light that you only turn on at night. By doing this you can keep your PH high throughout the night when your lights are off typically causing your PH to drop. If you don’t have a sump you could always put it into your display but be wary that snails and hermits love to eat it.

 

[bondo]

I would recommend buying some Dragons Breath seaweed and put it in your sump with a light that you only turn on at night. By doing this you can keep your PH high throughout the night when your lights are off typically causing your PH to drop. If you don’t have a sump you could always put it into your display but be wary that snails and hermits love to eat it.

Forgot to mention, no sump. Just a hang on back filter, and there are hermits.

 

[LuizW13]

I'm afraid you might have your hands tied; you're just going to have to eliminate co2 coming into your tank somehow, either by keeping your windows open or finding a way to get a skimmer with a co2 scrubber in.
How are you testing or monitoring ph anyways?

 

[Danireef13699]

Forgot to mention, no sump. Just a hang on back filter, and there are hermits.

You could stick the dragons breath in a back corner of your tank I usually rubber band them to a seashell while they are still small so they don’t float away. You can use this light and stick it on the side of the tank where you put the seaweed and then just switch it off at night. You could also try the grape seaweed the crabs will not eat that.

 

[arking_mark]

There's a ton of info on pH...just a couple thoughts:
1. Your pH measurements are likely +/- 0.1 or worse
2. There is a mathematical model for pH/Alk/CO2
3. Generally speaking CO2 levels in your tank drive your pH
4. Most pH buffers and such are just a mix of sodium carbonate/bicarbonate and have a very temporary increase in pH. Your basically increasing alkalinity.

For more info:

Aquarium pH Distilled

I just wanted to share my understanding of reef pH which is mostly based on: Low pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com Many would agree that reef tanks can be successful with pH between 7.8 – 8.5 NBS and daily swings as great as 0.5 NBS. Natural pH levels in our ocean...

www.reef2reef.com

A simple way to assess your pH measurements

A couple of facts: There is a mathematical model for pH, Alk, and CO2. Given any two of these you can calculate the 3rd. Most pH meters and test kits have an accuracy of +/- 0.2. A pH measurement below 7.8 is most likely a measurement error (or 7.6 due to the accuracy of your meter or test kit)...

www.reef2reef.com

Lessons learned in trying to maintain pH stability

For those interested in maintaining pH stability around +/- 0.05 I have a couple of lessons learned. These are things that I found out on my journey to pH stability. Prior to seeking pH stability my tank pH was consistently around ~7.9. However, much of this journey went on before the tank was...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Experienced w FOWLR, but first reef tank. And I decided to do a desktop nano. I have 3 LPS frags and 3 softies (just added a week ago). There's also a clown, a goby and skunk shrimp (been in there 4 months. I know I'm pushing it but Amonia and Nitrite are consistently 0, Nitrate is 10 - 15. PH has been 7.8 since tank finished cycling, it's 5 months running. I had DKH of 7.8, PH 7.8 so tried sodium bicarbonate, fixed the DKH to 8.2. Then tried Seachchem Reef Buffer to get PH up to 8.3 which worked but DKH went up to 8.7. PH sank quickly to 7.8 again. Then I used some Seachem reef complete to get my Calcium up from 360 to 380, but that drove DKH to 9.5. I'd like figure out a daily dose to maintain that PH near 8.2 but not drive the DKH up too far. Kalkwaser would be my next go to but the tank is so small 6 Gallon cube, and has glass lid so not much evaporation. I ordered some Soda Ash and Calcium Chloride from BRS. Going to try to figure out a dose on those. Aeration made no difference, I know my space is full of C02, it's a basement home office, and the tank is next to my desk. I don't have a skimmer so a line to the outside isn't happening. Am I on the right track with the 2 part? Or any better ideas? Also, I could switch to a better salt, I was using Instant Ocean.

Numbers today are
DKH Calc PH SG
9.5 380 7.8 1.026

Thanks,

Welcome to reef2reef!

As folks have mentioned, buffers are not the answer.

If the pH does not go below 7.8, I think the need to raise it is more along the lines of optimizing the system than a must do. pH 7.8 to 8.55 is generally fine.

There are a number of good ways to raise pH, from fresher air in the room to very high pH two part systems (higher than the soda ash recipe).

 

[bondo]

I'm afraid you might have your hands tied; you're just going to have to eliminate co2 coming into your tank somehow, either by keeping your windows open or finding a way to get a skimmer with a co2 scrubber in.
How are you testing or monitoring ph anyways?

I'm using API test kit, I know... I may get a Hanna. I use a Hanna for Alk. I'll also look into a mini sump for this, to allow both draggons breath and a skimmer. Was hoping to get away with just some dosing.