Oceanic salt low ph problem & stressed fish.

[srgetz]

I started using Oceanic 2 water changes ago. Trusted the product and never checked any levels except sg & temp when doing a change. Well the fish seemed stressed a few days ago and I found my PH at only 7.8. It has been at 8.1-8.3 till now. I added Kent buffer over a few days, got the PH up to 8.2 and they are acting fine again. Anyway, I am getting a PH of 7.8 @ 1.023 sg with freshly mixed (24hrs) Oceanic and R/O. I'm not sure what to do, this must be a bad batch and causing these problems? Should I add some buffer (for future water changes) or will that hurt the ionic balance in the long run? Maybe I should return the bucket? I bought the 200g bucket. I do not have an ALK test yet so I am in the dark on that.

 

[steve-s]

It's actually not a rare occurance but what seems to be quite common with this salt. Low alk/pH and high Ca seem to be the norm. You could tweek it with a good buffer before use but be sure you test for the alk/Ca balance before using it in the tank. It will not upset anything as long as you do smaller additions and don't overshoot the balance.

What salt where you using previously? If IO, then they are exact opposites and will definately cause a large degree of stress on your animals. I hope you don't have SPS's.

Cheers
Steve

 

[srgetz]

Thanks Steve. No sps, I only have that leather and a hammer coral for now, they seem normal. I was using Crystal Sea salt. The buffer is Kent Superbuffer-dKh, is this good? I will see if I can get an alk test, and possibly Ca. What values will I be aiming for?

 

[steve-s]

The buffer is Kent Superbuffer-dKh, is this good?

Definately my preference. Never had an issue with it so far.

What values will I be aiming for?

Given the higher Ca of the salt, find out what the levels are for both alk and Ca and simpley target a balance by raising the alk. Unless you do very large water changes (50%+), the balanced higher levels won't be a huge concern. You'll most likely end up somewhere close to 3.5-4 mEq/l alk w/ a Ca of 425-440 ppm after tweeking. I'd also suggest regular monitoring of Mg with this salt. Stick to smaller than normal water changes for the next month or so (done weekly) and then gradually increase until your back to the normal routine. If you switch back to a different salt once this one is done, just be sure to repeat the same process.

Cheers
Steve

 

[tmcpeek]

I am on my 3rd 200 gallon bucket of oceanic and my ph is always a steady 8.2. I will definately check it when I get new buckets.

 

[ram6519]

I have had my 55 Gal with 60 lbs of LR up and running for 4 months now and have had nothing but problems keeping the PH above 7.8 - 7.9. I use the Oceanic Natural sea salt mix. This is also the only salt that my LFS carries. Today they started me using the Kent Superbuffer-dKH. I use the same RO water that they use and their PH stays at 8.4 and this is what they use. I hope it works for me too.

 

[stusclan]

I also am using the Oceanic, and have had to buffer. I have one bucket left then I'm going to change to something else. Any suggestions?

 

[steve-s]

Kent or Tropic Marine are the main two I have never heard issue about. I use the Kent myself and has never let me down.

Cheers
Steve

 

[steve r]

steve-s, what are the CA, ALK and ph levels out of the bucket for kent. i have IO and am looking for something with a higher CA and slightly lower ALK

thanks
steve r

 

[steve-s]

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?p=291539#291539

Cheers
Steve

 

[grimlock3000]

Hrmm, that Kent mixes up pretty good. Might be time to order a bucket.

 

[steve r]

kent it is then. i will order that up next bucket.

thanks for the info
steve r

 

[grimlock3000]

$60.68 for a bucket of Kent shipped from www.thatpetplace.com. Anyone know of a cheaper place?

 

[captivereefs]

If you let it mix for at least 24 hours the PH should come up over 8.0. Make sure the surface is being aggitated as well.

 

[srgetz]

I do just that, powerhead overnight then check PH. Now my PH test kit may be off a little, but this Oceanic is definately low compared to what is needed out of the bucket and what I was getting before. It's a shame I thought Oceanic had this resolved; maybe I got old stock.

 

[stusclan]

I checked mine again this morning - down to 8.0 from 8.4. I'll be doing a water change tonight. I checked my container that I'm mixing in, the ph was 8.2. I'm confused as to why there is this much discrepancy. Not a very stable product.

 

[cmor1701d]

I'll check on my Oceanic this weekend for pH levels. I'm placing an order for Kents.

 

[cmor1701d]

I checked mine again this morning - down to 8.0 from 8.4

pH in the aquarium will be lowest in the morning after a lights out period and highest before lights out.

Just tested a fresh batch of Oceanic. It's been mixing since yesterday afternoon and is from the bottom of a 200 gal bucket. The batch is about 15 gallons.
pH - 8.2
PO4 - 0
Alk - 2.5
Ca - 420
Mg - 1380
Temp - 80F
pH and Alk were done with SeaChem kits and Salifert, PO4 with a Hagen test kit, and Ca and Mg were done with Salifert kits.

 

[steve-s]

Not bad numbers at all. Have you tested it before for a comparison, just wondering if Oceanic has tweeked the recipe? From what I've seen in the past, those are not typical results. I hope they've solved the pH issue as well.

Let us know how it does once it's actually "in use".

Cheers
Steve

 

[captivereefs]

If we are only are only talking about a 5 gallon bucket there is not a lot of stability there. A PH swing in that amount of water is not hard to have happen. More C02 in the air will lower the PH on a 55 gallon tank pretty fast, even faster in a 5 gallon tank.A PH of 8.0 to 8.4 is the target levels so it is within acceptable levels. .It also takes about 24 hours for all the elemnts to dissolve and mix together so you may have different PH readings 24 hurs apart.
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