Low PH, cause and affect?

So the other day in going to the LFS to check my Ammonia level, I found 0's on all 4 A N N P, but learned my PH was 7.8, my kh read 180ppm, pretty goodI should have asked this before I bought ( blah blah Buffer Max Marine ) I have a feeling i know what I am going to hear about that <<< cheap skate hahaha, so I am wondering, what would I notice from my Corals or some of them as an affect of the low PH in my tank? P.S. I haven't used that buffer yet

 

My self I would rely more on alk than pH values. Just in case you do not have this link.

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

The relationship between the alk, mg and ca is more important than the value of the pH especially a pH of 7.8.

If you rely on pH you need to measure the same time each day. Before lights come on will be your lowest value, at the end of the light period your highest. Trend that get the the difference between the two values.

Once you have established your true swing in pH, and a magnesium level then you can take an intervention if need be.

Lower pH's make ammonia more toxic.

You can raise your pH many ways. Since your alk is good presently I would see where you stand before considering that a chronic low value, and it's not that bad of a value.

 

the only test that has not been done in my tank is mg, ca has been good also, so at the 7.8 and apparently no Ammonia, there really should be no ill affect on the Corals?

 

I see, that link you put in there Corailline says 7.8 - 8.5. the reason why I asked that question was I was reading up more on my Corals requirements, the one I was checking at the time was my Fiji Yellow Leather likes between 8.1 -8.4 and he acted very un-normal today

 

Correct.

Will they grow faster with a pH of 8.2-8.4 maybe, but all other things need to be in balance and without testing for magnesium you may find it hard to find that balance.

Your tank is young and your mag at this point is probably fine, as corals grow and the utilization increases you will need the big three Ca/Alk/Mg to remain as consistent as possible.

If you think about Alkalinity as your systems way of neutralizing acids and your tanks ability to maintain a more stable pH that might help.

 

There are effects at a pH at lower pH (which is why phytoplankton shells are not found on deep ocean floors-dissolve before they settle). Corals can no longer precipitate CaCO3 because of more acidic conditions. CaCO3 that is already present will begin to dissolve. If all your other parameters are fine, your pH test may simply be inaccurate. If you're using a liquid test, test it using the calibration fluid. I found that my alk test is always reading 1.5 meq/L high.

 

Actually they used one of those test strip deals and i'm sure its blah blah brand, the Polyps didn't come out at all today on that Coral, I was told once that the best and first indicator there is a issue with your water is check your SPS Corals, I got 4 and I think they look really good, I don't know how true that is.

 

Don't trust the test strips. They have huge inaccuracies. If your corals are showing no signs of stress, then things are probably fine. Use a liquid test to verify.

 

Reef Care Reef Foundation Pro Multi Test Kit-Calcium,Alkalinity and Magnesium. is this a good kit do you know?