ph stuck at 7.5, in all 8 tanks....

[ARGYGANG]

i have 8 tanks ranging from 100 gallon all the way down to my single ocellaris 10 gallon (juvenile 2 inches).......my ph is stuck at a 7.5 no matter what i do or how much reef buffer i add, decided the reef buffer was doing more harm than good, basically figured out its co2 related since its affecting all my tanks the same exact way all tanks are running appropriately sized skimmers and sponge filters with power heads, even micro skimmers for the 10 gallons. what can i do to fix this issue? bit of back story im in a first floor apartment so no drilling holes in walls etc is going to happen, could i maybe like run my oven hoods vent 24/7? that would pull air outside which would pull the co2 along with it. atleast some of it, any artificial things i can buy/add to raise it to the desired level? im new to saltwater thought i had it all figured out fought my first battle with velvet, lost, saved some fish though, fallowed, now im having ph issues with all my tanks but everything else is good now. most of the tanks are not stocked, only have a 47 tall with two maroon clowns and a 10 with a single ocellaris in it. rest are fallow.

 

[Bfragale]

Hello there.
Disclaimer: im no expert but:

my first thought is - maybe your ph tester is faulty?

also: what is your aklinity in the tanks? Or better yet what’s all the other parameters?

 

[Garf]

If your pH was really 7.5 I would be amazed and want a pic or the tank, all eight of them.

 

[ARGYGANG]

Hello there.
Disclaimer: im no expert but:

my first thought is - maybe your ph tester is faulty?

also: what is your aklinity in the tanks? Or better yet what’s all the other parameters?

0 ammonia 0 nitrite .5 nitrate for all the fallow ones which is 6 of them, 0 ammonia 0 nitrite 20-45 nitrates for the fish in tanks, they are all cycled some fallow from velvet was a bad situation which spread through tanks due to my ignorance. alk is a 8-11 i believe phostphates are high in my 100 gallon due to a rusty screw on the door that fell off into my sump, other than that from what ive seen i have everything around rightish. need to do a water change to drop nitrates other than that i believe its correct?

 

[ARGYGANG]

If your pH was really 7.5 I would be amazed and want a pic or the tank, all eight of them.

yes i can do a ph test for you on the tanks and show them all the same in a few hours. even took tests to two different lfs that use two different test kits and got the same results, was told that same saying "if its really 7.5 bring it to me because i bet its not" it was. i use sera master saltwater test kit. the big expensive one.

 

[ARGYGANG]

If your pH was really 7.5 I would be amazed and want a pic or the tank, all eight of them.

600 sqft apartment btw, super tiny space for all these tanks im thinking co2 is the issue here, just asking for ideas to solve the co2 issue without running stuff through the wall etc.

 

[Bfragale]

You should never see nitrite once cycled. No need to test nitrite once cycled.

but this just doesn’t seem right. I do not imigine they are really 7.5 ph unless alk is really low.

I would try to mix some new saltwater, and test the new water. If it’s still 7.5 then I would suspect the test is bad. But if LFS tested it as well- they I don’t know.


I use a cheap $10 Amazon - no name one for ph- plus the apex. I’ve had good luck with the cheap PH testers.

you could try run a hose off skimmer to your window to pull fresh air. But I think there something else here we’re missing. 7.5 corals most likely wouldn’t survive. I guess I should ask- are there corals in the tanks? Or just fish?

if it was me- I would start with a full set of tests for each tank: alk, cal, mag, temp, salinity and ph. On my fish only. The only time I see 7.5 is if alk is really really low. Not sure if that helps but figures i would share.

 

[ARGYGANG]

You should never see nitrite once cycled. No need to test nitrite once cycled.

but this just doesn’t seem right. I do not imigine they are really 7.5 ph unless alk is really low.

I would try to mix some new saltwater, and test the new water. If it’s still 7.5 then I would suspect the test is bad. But if LFS tested it as well- they I don’t know.


I use a cheap $10 Amazon - no name one for ph- plus the apex. I’ve had good luck with the cheap PH testers.

you could try run a hose off skimmer to your window to pull fresh air. But I think there something else here we’re missing. 7.5 corals most likely wouldn’t survive. I guess I should ask- are there corals in the tanks? Or just fish?

if it was me- I would start with a full set of tests for each tank: alk, cal, mag, temp, salinity and ph. On my fish only. The only time I see 7.5 is if alk is really really low. Not sure if that helps but figures i would share.

We’ll I buy my salt mixed from my lfs and it comes at a 7.5….which I’ve heard is also weird but yeah it comes 7.5 from the store and never raises after that, as for nitrites thanks for letting me know I didn’t know that will save my tests.