Syndi31104
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
My pH for both the 40 gal and my little 2.5 are pretty low..i'd say about 1.0 too low..is there any way to help raise it? my fish are looking at me for some help..
pH?
- Thread starter Syndi31104
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Salttanker
Aquarium Advice Addict
I have a 90G FO tank with just base rock right now, so it is challenging to keep the Ph stable without live rock. During my water changes, I use Kent Ph buffer to adjust it with. This has worked rather well for me so far. HTH
Mike
Mike
WarOrks15
Aquarium Advice Addict
if you are in the cycle the ph goses up and down. most salt have a buffer in them. i dont have to add any thing to my water to get the ph at about 8.2.
Salttanker
Aquarium Advice Addict
WarOrks15 - You are probably remaining stable because you have liverock in your tank. My tank has been up for 5 months, and I only have base rock right now, so the Ph is hard to maintain in my tank. I will be getting some soon to correct that problem though.
Mike
Mike
S
steve-s
Guest
LR and base rock should both be CaCO3 based so that should not be an issue at all.
If you could confirm the pH is a full 1.0 below norm and not 0.01?
If you posted correctly above that would mean your pH is in the 7.0-7.03 range which would be a serious problem. If it's only 0.01, it's not.
Cheers
Steve
If you could confirm the pH is a full 1.0 below norm and not 0.01?
If you posted correctly above that would mean your pH is in the 7.0-7.03 range which would be a serious problem. If it's only 0.01, it's not.
Cheers
Steve
Syndi31104
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
yea steve, it's the 1.0 below..and it is a serious problem..i just did about a 40% water change, my lfs told me to try that..so i'll update with that info..the nitrate and nitrite have shot up as well, so maybe that'll help that problem too?
Syndi31104
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
no live rock yet..still waiting to get that..i don't know much about it, however it seems to be pretty helpful from what i've been reading on other posts..without it, is there still a way to lower nitrites? pH reading is a little better, nitrites remain awful...
Syndi31104
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
just a whisper filter...my lfs hasn't informed me on anything else that i need to get for filtration, rocks or whatnot..so that's it
S
steve-s
Guest
Syndi31104 said:
The water change will definately help but that will only be a temporary stop gap without enough biological fitration for bacteria. The NH3 and NO2 will continue to be a problem until you augment the filtration system. Base rock or LR will definately be a plus. With the Whisper filter it is rather limited in what it can handle but be sure you rinse the filter media regularly in SW to keep it free of uneaten foods and detritus. Keep enough SW prepared ahead of time to allow for water changes on the fly if things get worse.
As far as the pH is concerned, if the Whisper is the only thing moving the water you may need to change a few things. For proper gas exchange in a marine tank you need about 10x GPH (500+ GPH in your case) water movement within the tank and a decent amount of rippling at the surface. When the water tension is broken at the surface, CO2 is released from the water and O2 is absorbed. The Whisper will be directing water downward as apposed to outward and not giving you much of an effect. If you combine that with the possiblility of a glass lid covering the tank, you have low water flow and trapped CO2 and will definately supress the pH a great deal.
The other thing to consider is bioload. Especially without sufficient biological filtration in place. Having 8 fish in a 55 gal tank unto itself is not a major problem but that will greatly depend on the species of fish. The general guideline for stocking waste producing animals is 1" per 5 gal of tank capacity. That can be easily worked within if higher depending on max adult size or feeding behavior. If the fish are larger messy eaters, it will limit the bioload further.
How old is the set up?
Cheers
Steve
