Can't get PH up!

[Mugster]

Hi everyone. I seem to be having a problem getting my PH up to the 8.2 - 8.4 range. It seems to hover around 8.0 - 8.2, at night dropping as low as 7.8. I use RO water. I've tried using buffer but it still won't rise. I drip Kalk on a daily basis as part of the top-up. All of my param's are fine except the PH. Can anyone offer some insight as to why my PH is so low?

Thanks.

[titus]

Hello,

This topic has come up numerous times in the past and can be a result of many different issues. Bottom line is:
1) Good gas exchange
2) Water change

Quite often if dosing supplements doesn't help it means there's something out of parameter. So assuming your system is properly setup and without having to find out what exactly is the problem, water change would suffice. How often do you do that by the way?

[Mugster]

How much of a water change would you recommend? I change approx. 10-20 gals a week or thereabouts. BTW, I appreciate you taking the time to answer my questions.

Thanks

[Mugster]

I just finished making up 32 gals of water for a change later tonight. Hopefully this will help. Thanks for the advice. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[titus]

Hello,

You do appear to be doing periodic water change. What is your tank size? Usually I say about 20% but different people have different opinions. Usually no need to do more than 50% unless I guess you dropped some copper in your tank and you need to get rid of it fast.

Since when have your pH begun to behave funny? But like I said, it could be gas exchange as well. Because I haven't been running my protein skimmer lately due to pump failure, my pH is also lower but there's no alarm here.

[TimT]

Hi,

A ph of 7.9 to 8.2 is a normal daily fluctuation on the reef. A ph of 7.8 is a little low. I would not recommend going as high as 8.4. You might want to check the ph of some of the make up salt mix as it could be on the low side. Also make sure you add the salt mix to the water and not water to salt mix.

Cheers,
Tim

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

Do you think you can fill out one of those tank specification forms on the main page of the board. This will provide us more info on your tank and it will help other see if there aren't any other potential problems.

Thanks.

- Victor.

[Mugster]

Set Up Date :Nov 2001

Tank Size (LxHxW | Volume):180 gal(dual corner overflows)

Sump Size (LxHxW | Volume):55 gal(soon to have DSB)

Live Rock (Mass):approx. 180 lbs Fiji Prime

Live Sand (Mass):4"-5" fine arogonite

Lighting (Type | Wattage | Photoperiod):MH - 2 Iwasaki 250, 1 Iwasaki 400/VHO - 2 140w URI Actinic..1180 watts...11am-10pm (actinics first, then MH start at one end and come on at 30min intervals and shut off in same sequence, simulating sunrise and sunset).

Protein Skimmer (Brand | Model):DAS EX-1

Biological Filtration (Type):Bio Balls which are slowly being removed.

Chemical Filtration (Type):

Circulation (Rate | Brand | Model):4 MJ600, 3 Hagen402, 4 Hagen302 (PH's on timers running at intermintent intervals, off at night, on early morning).

Return Pump (Rate | Brand | Model):Mag12

pH (Morning | Evening):7.9-8.0 / 8.1-8.2

Temperature (Range | oC | oF):78 - 81

Specific Gravity / Salintity (g/g | ppt): 1.024

Alkalinity (meq/l | dKH):Have to test again, forget readings

Calcium (ppm):430

Ammonia (ppm):0

Nitrite (ppm):0

Nitrate (ppm):0.5

Phosphate (ppm):Not tested yet

Fish :2 Tomato Clowns, 2 Seabae Clowns (spawning biweekly), 3 Perculia Clowns, Yellow Eyed Tang, Flame Hawk, Fire Goby

Corals :Frog Spawn, Fox, Bubble, Leather, Green Star Polyp, Colt, Torch, Yellow Pagoda, Red and Green mushrooms, and 2 other frags that I forget the names of.

Invertebrates :Blue Leg, Scarlet, 2 Emerald, Turbo Grazers, 2 Reef Conchs, 2 Cleaner Shrimp, 2 Peppermint Shrimp, 2 Carpet Anenomes and 1 LTA (anenomes from previous 100 gal which have been doing great for more than 2 years now, size of dinner plates and hosts to the clowns).

Maintenance Program :Weekly 10 gal RO water change, Kalk dripped daily as part of top-up, weekly strontium 20ml, magnesium 40ml, and iodine 20ml dosing.

Additional Information (include estimated total system cost if known):Good coraline algae growth started. Some macro on LR which is growing well. Estimated cost 5-6k (probally higher once I gather all the receipts).

HTH [img]smile.gif[/img]

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

I would be interested in your alk values. What ball park number do you think they are at ?

Also, how are you measuring your pH ? pH meter ? Test kits ?

BTW...have you ever kept Xenias in your system ?

Also, I noticed that you dose magnesium. May I ask why you are doing this ?

- Victor.

[ 21 March 2002, 09:56: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]

[Mugster]

Reefburnaby, I will test the alk tonight and post the results. As for testing the PH, I use a Pinpoint monitor. I've also used a test kit and it gave the same results. As for the Zenia, yes I have kept them before but wasn't successful due to poor lighting and water flow (first attempt at reefkeeping a couple of years ago). Why do you ask?

I'm dosing magnesium on the advice of a friend at my LFS. He's been in the business for 14 years now, has a beautiful display tank at the store and at home, so I figure he must know something. Mind you though, after all the reading I've been doing on here I'm starting to lean away from adding any supplements other than Kalk.