PH solutions?

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Boboe77

Boboe77

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My PH is low around 7.7, what are some ways to keep my PH higher and more stable? I have my tank well ventilated with lots of gas exchange. And i dont think I should use kalk cuz i have supplements already for CA, ALK, and MAG. I have a mixed reef with lots of SPS and LPS. My ALK CA MAG sometimes gets low.

38gallon tank

SPS/LPS/softies

4 chromis, 1 royal gramma, 1 clown goby, 2 lyretail anthias
 
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What alk solution are you using? With the low pH, you would be best off using one based on soda ash (sodium carbonate). Those based on baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) are for those who already have high pH.
 
redfishbluefish said:
What alk solution are you using? With the low pH, you would be best off using one based on soda ash (sodium carbonate). Those based on baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) are for those who already have high pH.
Click to expand...

I'm using brightwell aquatics alkalin buffer. What should i use to keep the PH higher and stable?
 
Top Shelf Aquatics
How are you topping off and how much do you evaporate a day? Even a very weak Kalk solution has a high ph, but would not add a bunch of alk\calk.
 
my advice is to keep the big 3 (alk, mg, calcium) in check and don't worry about the ph.
 
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You certainly could use BRS soda ash.....or better yet, make your own by simply taking 2 1/4 cups of baking soda and baking it at 300 degrees for one hour. You now have food grade soda ash. Mix this up to one gallon with RO/DI water and you're good to go. HERE's the actual link.....Recipe 1, Part 2.






The Brightwell product is a mix of bicarbonates, carbonates and Borate. First off, borate is a buffer and is additive to the buffering cabability of the carbonates. What I don't like is that they don't tell you how much borate they have in there product. Too much borate could be problematic in our tanks. I persoannaly prefer not using it.


I also agree with fishroomlady.....you say you're well aerated, then proper alk, calc and mag with keep your pH were it needs to be. If you have a sump/refugium, run the refugium lights opposite your DT lights. This will minimize pH swings.
 
Need to know your alkalinity,calcium and magnesium levels.
 
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Your mag and ca. are a little low. You want to get mag. to 1350-1400 and ca. around 420. The best way to get parameters up is to dose until you get them where you want them. Then go 3 days without dosing and retest and divide results by 3. This will tell you your daily consumption rate. Then you can go to the brs reef calculator and see how much you need to dose each day to keep parameters stable.
 
mike007 said:
Your mag and ca. are a little low. You want to get mag. to 1350-1400 and ca. around 420. The best way to get parameters up is to dose until you get them where you want them. Then go 3 days without dosing and retest and divide results by 3. This will tell you your daily consumption rate. Then you can go to the brs reef calculator and see how much you need to dose each day to keep parameters stable.
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Ok cool! I'll do that right now!
 
Bring levels up slowly and once you get them to desired levels your ph should Improve. Don't chase ph numbers. Get the other parameters stable and you should be okay.
 
Deltec
When were you checking your Ph? If it was before the lights come on then its probably ok. If it was late during the light cycle then it could be a big issue. I battled low Ph for a minute, 7.8 was the high and 7.4 was the low. I started dripping kalk instead of daily dosing and it worked well. I only have to dose about once a week now with 2 part. I have found its much cheaper to drip kalk than it was to dose. I think I paid $4 for a bag of pickling lime, and at my current consumption it should last at least 8 months to a year. It also helped stabilize the CA and alk.
 
Pete polyp said:
When were you checking your Ph? If it was before the lights come on then its probably ok. If it was late during the light cycle then it could be a big issue. I battled low Ph for a minute, 7.8 was the high and 7.4 was the low. I started dripping kalk instead of daily dosing and it worked well. I only have to dose about once a week now with 2 part. I have found its much cheaper to drip kalk than it was to dose. I think I paid $4 for a bag of pickling lime, and at my current consumption it should last at least 8 months to a year. It also helped stabilize the CA and alk.
Click to expand...
With all his parameters being slightly low his tank is the perfect candidate for Kalk in the topoff.
 
Tidal Gardens
First things first - HOW are you checking your pH? If you aren't using a pH probe to monitor it, you have no idea what your pH really is and you should do absolutely nothing until you know what it truly is. Drip tests are horribly inaccurate when it comes to pH. If you are using a pH monitor, recalibrate it with brand new calibration solution. If you store your calibration solution for any time, even light evaporation shifts the pH. It is only a couple of dollars for new solution anyway. I also like to buy all 3 pH solutions (4, 7, and 10) so that when I calibrate using 2 of them, I can double-check to make sure the calibration is accurate by measuring the pH of the 3rd, unused solution.

Once you have a freshly calibrated pH probe, if you still have a pH of 7.7 you can start trying to change things very slightly to boost your pH. Using Soda Ash as other stated is a really good idea to bring things up a little bit and using Kalk (or Calcium Acetate) is a really good solution too. I use both 2-part and Calcium Acetate through my doser. The Kalk brought my 2-part usage down quite a bit and has been saving me money while boosting my pH slightly.

If you are going to use Kalk, I strongly suggest running it through a doser to prevent any accidents and to ensure that your pH stays stable throughout the day. 2-part is far more expensive than Kalk, so why not use Kalk to offset your 2-part dosing and boost your pH at the same time?
 
Last edited:
jservedio said:
First things first - HOW are you checking your pH? If you aren't using a pH probe to monitor it, you have no idea what your pH really is and you should do absolutely nothing until you know what it truly is. Drip tests are horribly inaccurate when it comes to pH. If you are using a pH monitor, recalibrate it with brand new calibration solution. If you store your calibration solution for any time, even light evaporation shifts the pH. It is only a couple of dollars for new solution anyway. I also like to buy all 3 pH solutions (4, 7, and 10) so that when I calibrate using 2 of them, I can double-check to make sure the calibration is accurate by measuring the pH of the 3rd, unused solution.

Once you have a freshly calibrated pH probe, if you still have a pH of 7.7 you can start trying to change things very slightly to boost your pH. Using Soda Ash as other stated is a really good idea to bring things up a little bit and using Kalk (or Calcium Acetate) is a really good solution too. I use both 2-part and Calcium Acetate through my doser. The Kalk brought my 2-part usage down quite a bit and has been saving me money while boosting my pH slightly.

If you are going to use Kalk, I strongly suggest running it through a doser to prevent any accidents and to ensure that your pH stays stable throughout the day. 2-part is far more expensive than Kalk, so why not use Kalk to offset your 2-part dosing and boost your pH at the same time?
Click to expand...

Ok! What kind of PH pen should i use? Or which one should I buy for my tank? I have a apex jr. So maby if its possible i can get a PH pen for that?
 

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