Raising ph?

[FishN00b83]

My ph is 7.8 and I am looking into a easy way to keep it around 8.2-8.4. How can I go about raising it and keeping it at a higher point? I don't have any corals at this point, but that will change very soon. Would kalkwasser be the best way as of now?

 

[carey]

Is it a covered tank? Like with glass covers?

 

[FishN00b83]

Yeah right now it's a 29 biocube, but I keep the back hatch and the feeder door open all the time.

I hope to finish setting up my 125 this week. I have a 8" canopy but it has a open back. Is the semi closed top my problem?

 

[daney90]

Yes it could be. Point your powerheads up to the surface of the water. Usually pH is a prob when the tank has a cover. And open up your windows too. Since its summer it we tend to use AC all day but the tank needs fresh air to breathe.

 

[FishN00b83]

I have the return pointed straight up at the surface, I always have.

 

[Terrance]

i have read many successful grown reefs with ph 7.8 and lower. There nog many but i have read about them. Stability of ph is more important.

 

[FishN00b83]

Yeah? I haven't seen that, but that's interesting. I know I have low calc now in the biocube, alk and mag I'm not sure. Some of the empty shells in the tank are disintegrating, so without even testing I know I'm low. I'm not too worried about it because my 125 will be up this weekend so ill buy a few test kits and see exactly what's going on.

I'm just trying to figure out what I can do now if I need to start dosing something soon. I don't what to have any problems with the bigger tank.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Alkalinity and PH are intertwined. You might have a low Alkalinity as well. This link may help. We call it the "balancing act"

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Solving Calcium And Alkalinity Problems — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

 

[Gregcoyote]

My tank runs 7.8-8 when the house is closed up. Goes to 8.1-8.3 when the windows are open. The wild life doesn't seem to care as long as changes are gradual.

 

[jeffaquarius]

My tank runs 7.8-8 when the house is closed up. Goes to 8.1-8.3 when the windows are open. The wild life doesn't seem to care as long as changes are gradual.

You must be consuming too much oxygen Greg lol

 

[Gregcoyote]

You must be consuming too much oxygen Greg lol

I suspect you're right. Have a house full of dogs too.

 

[Holygral]

7.8 is fine, how are you measuring and when, makes a big difference

 

[saltcreep1025]

Using kalkwasser in your topoff water would certainly help, but you should probably be testing for alk/ca if you do that.

 

[daney90]

Alkalinity and PH are intertwined. You might have a low Alkalinity as well. This link may help. We call it the "balancing act"

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Solving Calcium And Alkalinity Problems — Advanced Aquarist | Aquarist Magazine and Blog

Yup Jeff is right about this.. PH ad KH are related but indirectly. From what I understood about the article low KH or fluctuating KH will also change your pH. This is my prob too right now and im still figuring out how much my system consumes KH.

 

[jeffaquarius]

KH and Calcium are like in a balance scale. When one is down the other goes up. The result of dosing excess kalkwasser is that your Calcium suffers and vise versa. One thing to take note though is that if your magnesium is too low, your calcium will never go up by dosing. The first step is raise magnesium then raise KH to right level before dosing with calcium.

 

[FishN00b83]

wow I didn't think this was such a complicated topic. I'm usually testing right as the lights turn on or right before a water change. Like I said I'm not real worried about it now, but all I have left with my 125 is hanging the lights. I want to get everything under control from day 1. I will buy these 3 test kits and take it from there.

I know calc is low if not alk and mag too. I just wanted to know the easiest way to keep these things under control. I do weekly 20% water changes, but it doesn't seem to help when it comes to ph and the other things.

 

[mr_X]

Just increase aeration via surface agitation and perhaps open the top. The rest will be fine with weekly water changes.

 

[FishN00b83]

I'm doing all that now and it's not helping that's why I'm posting

 

[jeffaquarius]

If it's not helping try using a higher capacity ph. Adding with same capacity may not have the same effect as just with one that is making enough water surface agitation to force oxygen into your tank. The size of power head depends on the size of your tank.

 

[jeffaquarius]

Just increase aeration via surface agitation and perhaps open the top. The rest will be fine with weekly water changes.

This is true if you are using the right salt mix that has the right amount of elements. When I was using IO Reef Crystal I have to dose my tank even if I do 20% pwc weekly but not with Coralife and Kent. It also depends on your livestock consumption.