PH is to high...

[deanp88]

I have a 125g tank that has been set up for about 2 months. Tank has cycled and diatoms have finally died out (algea). Ammonia is 0 N2 is 0 and N3 is between 20-30. I use RO water. Tank has about 5 damsels and a clown in it. I have a feather duster and tree soft coral and an anenome and all three today have not been in full bloom. I tested the PH and it is at 8.6. I have been using that Kent reef supplement part a and b that is also suppose to balance ph. How do I get the ph down and could that be the reason that the coral is not in full bloom?
Thanks..

 

[melosu58]

I would try some frequent PWC`s first to get it to come back down. Why are you adding a supplement?

 

[deanp88]

The guy at the lfs said it would help with the live rock I had. I just tested the PH at the source from the RO unit that is about a month old and the PH from it is the same, 8.6+. Now what do I do? I am not on a well. Is this dangerous for the fish/coral? I have some Proper ph 8.2. Could I use that to bring it down? The jar says "increases" carbonate hardness (KH) to hold or buffer ph to 8.2.

 

[melosu58]

If it was me I would discontinue adding the supplement and do some PWC`s and then test about an hour before the lights go out. This will give you a true reading.

 

[thincat]

Something is wrong with or RO unit if the PH coming out of it is 8.6. You should be getting very close to 0.

 

[deanp88]

Well, I had tested the water with a master test kit originally, then went to the lfs and bought another test kit for PH. Now my RO unit with the new test kit shows PH at 7.4 and tank is 8.4. Obviously a bad test kit I guess. Don't know how old it is, it was given to me. The master kit was a drytab kit. Do any of you guys use the Aquaripure nitrate filter on your tanks? Is it worth it?

 

[thincat]

Your PH is good. I would not worry to much about the nitrate level just yet. Just do 20 -30% PWC's and that should bring it down enough for now. Don't be in to much of a rush to add chemicals to your AQ. That is a sure road to BIG trouble.IMO...

 

[deanp88]

Good enough, thanks!

 

[Kurt_Nelson]

Measuring pH of RO water is useless if you're nearing 0ppm TDS. You can use the same test kit on the same sample and get two different readings with "pure" water. In theory, the pH of "pure" water should be 7.0 (neutral). But it won't be, or if it is... it's purely luck. The ratio of free ions in the water is so low, any little contamination from anything can throw off the results. Pretty sure your source water isn't the problem.

My guess is its your 2-part dosing. I'm not familiar with the Kent 2-part, but I don't believe any 2-part solutions will "balance" your pH for you. If you add too much of the alkalinity - or if your tank isn't using it, as is probably your case - then you're probably going to see an increase in pH once your levels get out of whack. Do you have a alkalinity test kit? How 'bout a calcium test kit? Those are the two elements you're adding with the 2-part solution, so I'd be sure I was testing for them to see where you're at.

Until you get a large amount of coraline algae, dosing a 2-part solution isn't doing you any good and is most likely messing up your water parameters. Weekly water changes will give you what you need until the growth of coralline (and coral, eventually) strips more calcium out of the water then you can put back in with a water change. And testing is the way to keep track of that.

Here's a good article...

Calcium and Alkalinity by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

And here's the article to go to when you get your calcium and alkalinity levels all out of whack...

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/nov2002/chem.htm

 

[Jaybird]

Something is wrong with or RO unit if the PH coming out of it is 8.6. You should be getting very close to 0.

You do know the Ph scale, right? A Ph of zero, or close to it, would pretty much guarantee that everything in your tank was dead. It would also be eating it's way through the plastic tubing of the RO unit.

If the water coming out of the RO unit was pure, it should be seven, or as close as possible to that.

 

[rive1404]

I second that dosing is the problem. Test your alkalinity. If I were a gambling man, I'd bet it's pretty high. Kurt's assessment is absolutely correct. Dosing an excess will cause your pH to increase. Just curious, why are you dosing? It doesn't seem like you have the kind of livestock that would require any kind of dosing. I'd discontinue the dosing for a while--not necessary IMO.

To my knowledge, most salt mixes already contain the trace elements and other things that coral need. What kind of salt are you using?

Pure Water is relatively around 7.0. Thincat just had a brainfart. For someone that contributes as much as he does--it's no big deal.

 

[thincat]

My Bad...typo should have been 7.0...

 

[Jaybird]

Pure Water is relatively around 7.0. Thincat just had a brainfart. For someone that contributes as much as he does--it's no big deal.

That's why I was teasing

 

[deanp88]

The guy at the lfs said to add the two part reef supplement. I have stopped using it. I will grab an alkalinity test kit and see where it is at. Things are looking better in the tank right now.