PH

[Joemama16341]

I have been doing alot of water changes lately due to high nitrates and using in my opinion an extreme amount of PH up is there any difference between the PH up that you use in the aquarium or say ph up for swimming pools? Or can I buy bigger bottles of PH up for aquariums?

 

[xxmoorishmanxx]

why r u addong any ph up? usually cruched coral and araginte sand helps buffer an aquarium, but if u need it to boost up the ph of tap water, i would suggest a ph buffer IME and IMO they work better.

 

[Joemama16341]

What is a good PH buffer to use?

 

[quarryshark]

I like Kent's.

 

[steve-s]

If your doing alot of water changes and still having pH issues, you should look into what's causing it. Typically it will be something in how the tanks set up or it's still cycling. Causes are low GPH, trapped CO2, excessive bioload, overfeeding and so on...

Continually adding chemicals to maintain pH is going to lead to trouble eventually.

Cheers
Steve

 

[lando]

Continually adding chemicals to maintain pH is going to lead to trouble eventually

Very true! It is so important to have a basic understanding of water chemistry and learn to correct underlying causes with out the aid of chemicals. I have learned that this hobby is more about keeping water...the fish can pretty much keep themselves.

 

[Joemama16341]

My PH holds well its just I have been doing alot of water changes lately to get my nitrates down my tap water is around 7.0 so I am using the PH up to bring it up to 8.2 before I put the water into my tank. I am sorry if you guys though my PH was falling I should have been more specific. Once I get my water correct I never have to add PH up after that it stay there.

 

[Phyl]

Mixing my saltwater usually provides me with water at the perfect PH. What is your PH in your saltwater after mixing with a power head for 24-48 hours? How soon after adding salt are you putting the water in your tank?

 

[Joemama16341]

I wait a day or two before adding it to the tank its usually 7.5 after a day or two that is why I have been PH upping it

 

[steve-s]

What salt are you using and at what salinity?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Joemama16341]

I use Instant Ocean and try to keep it about 1.024

 

[steve-s]

You may have gotten a bad batch of salt then. I would contact the manufacturer. IO typically has a very good pH and rather high alk no matter the water source used. Anything below 8.0 would indicate something amiss with the salt itself.

When you prepare the SW do you have a powerhead & heater in the bucket and is it covered or uncovered? Mixed for at least 24 hrs?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Joemama16341]

I don't use a powerhead I just don't have the extra money to buy one just for that use for mixing water right now. I plan on adding 3 more powerheads at the end of the month. Two of them for my tank (giving me 4) and 1 for mixing water. Right now when I mix water I use a airstrip and a heater and occasionally mix it up with a spatchula to make sure all the salt gets mixed in.

 

[Joemama16341]

Oh I stopped at the local fish store today and bought some SeaBuffer to sabilize my ph and now my proteinskimmer is going nuts. Is this normal? I only used half the recommended dosage because my PH is at the proper level now.

 

[steve-s]

Seabuffer unto itself shouldn't affect the skimmer at all. Not sure what has happened there unless a chemical imbalance causing precip and the skimmer is trying to remove it.

As far as your newly mixed SW is concerned, you shouldn't use buffers for a pH related problem. They also raise alkalinity at the same time and in doing so you may inadvertantly raise alk to dangerous levels that can harm the animals.

Sounds to me like your main issue is not with the salt but with how your preparing it. If mixed properly and allowed to aerate, the pH should stabalize above 8.0 without chemical tweeking. An airstrip and the occasional stir isn't going to be enough to blow off ambient CO2. You really need to get a powerhead in there for it to mix properly.

Cheers
Steve