ph low

Hello my ph is 7.4 and im running a 90 gallin reef tank I heard it should be 8.0 atleast for reef question is I have a product called ph up it says 4 drops for each gallon and not to raise more then 0.2 at a time in a 24hr period...is this the rite ph up ....how many drops should I really put and is this the correct product?

 

pH additives only mask the problem. After adding it, you will find your pH will drop within the next day. Low pH means more acidic water, generally caused by too much CO2 buildup in the tank. You need to get the water more circulated and more aerated. Point your powerheads up to the surface of the water, add and airstone, get rid of glass covers over the top, and let fresh air into your house. If you take care of the circulation and gas exchange in your tank, I promise you that your pH will lift to a normal level.

 

I thought "ph up" is only for fresh water use. Could you show us a link?

Anyway, yea, most likely is too much CO2 buildup. How many fish you have?

Oh! If there are too much organic decay, it would have lot of CO2 as well. How do you feed?

 

Jesus!....................I cant add anything to this statement. These young " whipper snappers"................lol Great call!


Luna

 

Added airstone and another power head waiting on k4's to come

 

Ammonia was .25 how to fix??? im testing things. lol

 

That means it's still going through a cycle and not stable yet. There is decay in the tank. Don't do a waterchange or anything, let your bacterial system catch up with the tank bioload.

 

Any pH buffer made for marine tanks will bring up your pH for a short period of time. Those new to this hobby (me included way back when) are guilty of making the mistake of dumping in these pH/KH buffers when you test a 8.0 pH out of panic. The added carbonates jump the pH up to 8.6 and we panic again, water change, pH down and the whole tank goes out of whack. I learned the best way to fix problems in marine aquaria is to read a lot and get a general understanding of the chemistry of this stuff and how things affect the water parameters. Good thing is, there are a lot of people here on the forum that know A LOT and are so willing to share their knowledge and help out.

 

If you have a fuge thats lit... reverse your photoperiod on it.. can help ph too..

Like run your tank lights through the day... and your fuge lights through the night.

 

You being one of those people




Luna