Ph level for the tank?

[Kingumar]

I have had my tank running for a week now, its a 55gal, i recently put some live sand in, and now have about 3lbs of live rock also.

Today i did all of my water tests and most of it was good except the PH. It was showing 7.4. How to fix this? My tank is still a bit fogy from the sand.

How to get the ph up to normal (about 8-8.4?)?

And who to do for it to be stable?

[Hop]

What are you testing the pH with?

[Kingumar]

i bought this test kit. reef test kit. put the water in a glass tube, and 5 drops of the chemical they gave and match color of water with the card.

[Hop]

Yeah, the vast majrity of the test kits are prone to error and not as accurate as a properly calibrated pH monitor and probe. At this point I wouldn't think unless you have major co2 issue in your home that the pH is that low

[Kingumar]

k thanks allot .

I will probably do another in 2 days and see whats up.

But any ideas why ph can go low?

[Hop]

Co2 build up... and possibly a few other issues, but nothing I would think you should be concerned with. just don't start adding buffers(ever) or making drastic changes until you know for sure Also testing at various times of the day will show different results. Anything over 7.8 IMO checking before the lights go off at night is fine.

[crvz]

Originally Posted by Kingumar

But any ideas why ph can go low?

Because the test kit isnt any good.

Like Hop says, really the only way to drive your pH that low is if you have a LOT of CO2 build up, or possibly if you're running a calc reactor and injecting CO2 into the system. But in your case, I'm 99% certain you've just got bad data, and no amount of further testing with a test kit will really change it. In my experience, as long as the alk/calc are in good shape, there's no need to try to manage pH. It will take care of itself.

[Neuticle]

Add some buffer, it took me a week or so of building up buffer capacity. My tank hasn't left pH8.3-8.4, 10-12dkH since I then. I just add a cap full when I remember.

[crvz]

Originally Posted by Neuticle

Add some buffer, it took me a week or so of building up buffer capacity. My tank hasn't left pH8.3-8.4, 10-12dkH since I then. I just add a cap full when I remember.

I wouldnt recommend doing this unless you're also testing for alkalinity. Every day I read threads where someone was trying to buffer their pH, then turns out the alkalinity is shot up past 17dkh. Again, as long as your alk and calc are in shape, there's really no need to manage pH.

[ScruffyRubicon]

Agreed! Add no buffer. The tank is only a week old, sand and rock have just been added, this is winter time(higher CO2 levels in the house). Give it some time. You can't really add livestock to this tank for a while yet anyway. If you really want to see if this is a CO2 issue take a cup of your tank water and set it outside for 15 minutes and then test it. It should test higher. If it doesn't test at near 8.3 you most likely have a bad test kit.

[solarnailspa2007]

i have a same problem with pH... All I do is sit back and relax....

[8251reefer]

Drip Kalk ...slowly...

[Loverotties]

Originally Posted by 8251reefer

Drip Kalk ...slowly...

That's what I do!