ph question

[mle421]

how come my ph is so low. it's at 8.0.

my salinity is a little high its at 1.026
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 10ish

i use RO water from walmart

i have a 10 gallon tank with a hob filter, a heater, and one powerhead.

4.4 wpg ligting

2 clownfish

10lbs live rock,
snails and hermits.

what could cause this? and how can i fix it?

 

[lziarek]

check your salt, usually its the salt that has a low alkalinity and thus will also have a lower ph, also organics in the water can build up over time reducing the ph as well

 

[mle421]

i use instant ocean. and my salinity is at 1.026

 

[quarryshark]

What time of day are you checking it? PH will fluctuate and typically be lower early in the AM and at night. 8.0 is on the low side of the desired level, but I wouldn't be too concerned. Have you tested your ALK? Also, do you have a glass cover on your tank?
May want to tweak that SG down a bit to like 1.022-1.024. Your inverts would appreciate it.

 

[mle421]

yeah my SG is usually always at 1.024 but i went away for the weekend and when i came back it was 1.031!!!! of course i freaked out and added a bunch of RO water so now its at 1.025, i probably should have done that slower to not stress my tank, but i panicked! i'm testing at night usually at about 8 or 9. and i do have a glass cover. i also noticed that my hob filter cartridge needed to be replaced (it makes funny noised when it needs replacing) so i did that and my ph is in between 8.0 and 8.1 now so maybe that contributed. I have not tested for ALK. i'll try to buy a test for it tomorrow or friday.

 

[ZoozFishMaster]

I used to use Instant Ocean and freshly mixed water tested at 8.1 with a digital pH meter.

 

[quarryshark]

i'm testing at night usually at about 8 or 9

Good time to check it, near the end of the photo period I would presume.

and i do have a glass cover.

This can sometimes interfere with your gas exchange my trapping some of the CO2. Is there a portion of the glass you could replace with egggcrate? Sometimes that alone will raise PH.
Also how is your surface water movement?
Your PH really isn't bad. I would watch it, but not be overly concerned at this point.

 

[mle421]

well i have two lights on the top, a coralife 50/50 an a standard output florecent. if i take part of the glass off im just concerned about evaporation water and salt getting in my lights, will this be an issue?

 

[quarryshark]

if i take part of the glass off im just concerned about evaporation water

Just have to top off more with RO water.

and salt getting in my lights

Have any places away from the lights that you could remove? I just removed 2 sections in the front of my tank, made a big difference.
I would just try is as a test to see if it helps..or.
Take a small container of tank water and airate the heck out of it for a few hours and see if the PH comes up in the container. If it does, then you know that gas exchange is a problem in the system. If it doesn't come up, then this is not the problem.

 

[mle421]

no, i have a few inches that arent covered by the lights, but they're already open. i'll try the small container test and get back to you