Fool me once... a comeback story

[kien]

Originally Posted by scuglass

Parameters after a couple days
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Salinity 1.022 (at time of these tests, have brought up to 1.025)
...

Im not running a skimmer at the moment and my salinity was low would this cause my pH to be this low?

Yes, it's quite possible and likely that your lower pH is due to the lower salinity. Test it again to be sure :-) It's not that far off though. An acceptable range is somewhere from 7.8 to 8.4 and remember that pH of your tank will typically swing from morning till night as well.

edit: The lack of skimmer can also affect pH but this variable also depends on the CO2 content of the surrounding air around the skimmer. That is, if the C02 around the simmer is high, the skimmer could potentially lower the pH further. But generally, if you have lower CO2 around your skimmer, the injection of this air can raise your pH.