PHOSBAN=LOW PH?????

[baily2007]

Hi all,

I started slow with the phosban, and am up tp 100g in my 72g reef. My PH has dropped from 8.1 to 7.9. in the past month. Calc. is at 500, Mag. at 1500. Alk is 8.5. Nitrates at 10.

How do I rectify the low PH while still using the Phosban reactor??
All help would be appreciated.

 

[melosu58]

What time of the day are you checking your PH?

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Also... how often are you doing partial water changes, and how much?

 

[baily2007]

I am checking my Ph at the end of my light cycle which is about 9:00PM. As to PWC, I do 25-30% monthly.

 

[roka64]

I doubt the reactor is reducing your pH. I run one on mine and haven't had any problems. Is it possible you used on of your old phs, reducing your water movement instead of buying a new ph for the reactor? Realistically, that is not a huge drop and should not harm your critters.

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

I found this article that maybe you haven't seen...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/june2004/review.htm

I didn't realize running Phosban could lower your pH. Since I've never run Phosban, I'm not sure how best to keep your pH higher while still using it - but more frequent water changes might be one of the easier methods. Maybe every other week, or perhaps even a smaller amount every week?

 

[roka64]

Nice one Kurt, I stand corrected. You can also add more surface ripple to compensate.....

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

What surprised me in the article was the fact that when his alkalinity was high, the Phosban caused a dramatic decrease in the alkalinity levels. But with lower alkalinity, there was hardly any change. If nothing else, the article just reinforced what I'd just read elsewhere - there are sooooo many chemical interactions going on in our tanks, it's kind of silly to think we understand exactly what's going on by doing tests for just a handful of things (pH, alk, Ca, PO4). It's no excuse to stop testing, but we just need to take that into account when we start tinkering with our water parameters.

 

[MT79]

I've heard of that happening. I never use more than 1/2 the recommended amount to avoid issues. 7.9 doesn't worry me, but being that low at the end of the light cycle means you're probably dipping below 7.8 at night- not good. To raise PH you could use kalkwasser for evaporation replacement and drip it in over night. I've also heard of people plumbing their skimmer air intake to an outdoor vent to increase O2 and thus PH. You may have to decrease the amount of phosban or discontinue use and compensate by having good flow, powerful skimmer, not over feeding, etc.

If nothing else, the article just reinforced what I'd just read elsewhere - there are sooooo many chemical interactions going on in our tanks, it's kind of silly to think we understand exactly what's going on by doing tests for just a handful of things

The longer I'm in this hobby, the less I realize I know. It's amazing.