?PH problem

timing · 01-04-2006, 05:59 PM

I recently have had all my corals close up and will not come out to play.
Of all the testing and reading the only thing I can see is the PH is too low.
PH is at 7.7
All my fish, crabs, starfish, and shrimp are eating and doing great.
Read over my specs please and anyone please help.

Andy · 01-04-2006, 06:24 PM

Welcome to TRT!

I think you need to raise your pH, no doubt about it. Lots of ways to do it (do a search under pH on this website and you will get about 2 days worth of reading). Lots of chemical reasons why your pH could be so low...could you post your tank specs so we could try and figure something out?

A couple of things you can do that can't hurt your tank and will help raise pH:

Quit feeding for a couple/few days and let your organics level go down..won't hurt your fish in the short term

Do a nice sized water change

Change out all of your filter media in the next few days..not all at once unless you have lots of live rock for biological filtration

I'm not going to recommend adding buffers cause I don't know that much about them...someone else who is a chemist will surely chime in soon

Best of luck
andy

Loverotties · 01-04-2006, 07:44 PM

Welcome to TRT!Water changes and getting your ph and also check your alk.(it's probley low also).so add some buffer too if it is low!

ChrisPrusha · 01-04-2006, 08:17 PM

Welcome to TRT, timing!! w00000000000t!!!

I use a two part calcium/alk solution. Keeping your calium and alkalinity at a desired level will allow your pH to stay at a desired level as well. Good luck!

tdwyatt · 01-04-2006, 08:53 PM

uhhhh...

before you get carried away, how are you measuring your pH? Do you have a test value for your alkalinity as well?

Geoff · 01-04-2006, 09:02 PM

Welcome to TRT!!

do you have a cover on the tank? i am with Tom, lets get a good baseline first. when did you test the pH of the water. it will change during the course of the day. low in the morning and higher just before lights off.

tell us gobs about your setup.

G~

skeety · 01-05-2006, 06:23 AM

Also, when giving us tank details....can you tell us a little about where it's set up? Is there good ventillation in the room it's in? Any chance for it to get ANY air from outside? or is the room pretty much shut off from outside air?

Get back to us, and we'll be happy to help!!!

timing · 01-05-2006, 12:47 PM

OK Tank Details and last PH test
I tested the PH in the morning just after lights turned on 7.2 and just before lights go off and 7.7
this is every day for the last week or so I have used Tetra liquid test and a 5-1 test strip from somebody I don't have it in front of me right now.
75gal
150lbs live rock
2" LSB
40gal ref.
Protien skimmer
Icecap 660 with 2-Super Act 03 and 2-Act white for 440watts
Temp is stable around 79.5-80
450ppm Calcium
240ppm Alk
Nitrate 0-5
Nitrite 0
Tank is built into my dinning room wall with fans blowing room air in over the lights.
Air in house set to stay at 74 year round stays fairy stable.
City water PH is 7.2 after RO/DI it test around 6.5 and sometimes lower

drsyme · 01-05-2006, 01:21 PM

You didnt mention the weather there!

timing · 01-05-2006, 02:34 PM

Haha
Sunny and Windy 62°F
Feels Like
62°F

drsyme · 01-05-2006, 02:35 PM

Great!

Open a window, tell us what happens.

tdwyatt · 01-05-2006, 02:35 PM

nor the salinity...

Is there any chance that you could take a sealed sample (without any air in the sample bottle) to someone with a calibrted and clean pH meter?

240 ppm alkalinity ~~13.44 dKH ~~ 4.8 mEq, with this much alk I am having serious doubts about your pH being at even the evening reading... ...unless your salinity is extremely low, but then you would not be able to reach supersaturations of this magnitude (Ca++ ~ 450 PPM and Alk ~ 13.4 dKH ) See Greg's site for a conversion clculator .

In the meantime, make a fresh batch of IO in RO/DI water, make sure that the salinity is 35 PPT dead on and the sample heated to 80 degrees F (S.G. of 1.026 at 80 degrees F), test it with your test kit for pH when just finished dissolving all the salt and adjusted for salinity, stir it for at least 6 hours (with a powerhead (PH)), then run your pH test kit again on that batch.

Post your results here when you're done!

timing · 01-05-2006, 03:11 PM

1.025 what my meter shows but the LFS show in his meter 1.026
The only Alk tester I have is the 5-1 test strips and I might be reading it wrong but it looks like 240 but I will check again.
On the getting water with no air and taking to a LSF or someone who has a calibrated clean meter I don't know of anyone. Both the LSF that test my water use the Tetra or equiv.
I can go buy a new test kit if need be

timing · 01-05-2006, 03:20 PM

The name of the strips is Mardel 5-1 Test Strips

drsyme · 01-05-2006, 03:34 PM

In general tests that require you to match a color are unreliable.

Tests that use a titration method are better. The color change in these kits are obvious. An example is the salifert calcium and kH kits. You count the number of drops that it takes to make the sample change color. And like I said this color change is obvious, and occurs over 1 or 2 drops so the error in the reading is less.

So the first thing you need to do, imo, is to get better information about what is really going on with your pH, your alk, your calcium before you do anything else.

Well, opening a window wont hurt.