Ph Drops

why would my Ph drop from 8.2 to 8.1 in a few hours? I noticed even yesterday it dropped from 8.3 to 8.1 in the evening.

What is the best thing to use to get Ph up if it drops too low?

I have some:
Seachem Marine Buffer - Powder
Kent Superbuffer-dKH - Powder
Kent Pro Buffer dKH - Liquid

 

Did it drop after lights out?

 

That's not a huge drop. Does it go back up during the day?

 

ph will drop at evenings/night time normally. try opening a adjecent window, turn on the ceiling fan, and open up your canopy for a few hours.. and retest. also if your alk/dkh isnt low i would use a ph up only additive. marine buffer i think is ph up only, the other two will raise dkh/ph. also test your dkh if its under 9 then dose both.

 

My light status hasnt changed since 12:00 noon when the MH lights come on. I know its not a lot....I think its still in the safe range ....Its this new Apex controller....it gives you almost too much information!!! In a graph view too!!

I am going to test Mg, and Alk now to see what I get.

 

from what i've have seen 7.8-8.3 is ok for reef tank.. 8.0-8.3 is ideal.

 

my Ca is 460
Mg is 1200
Kh is 15
Phosphates are 0.5

How do I get the Kh down?

I am going to add some Mg now.....do you think I should add some Ca too?

 

cal is good.. 400-450 is good. usally the higher the calcium levels higher alk will go up. I would only raise your mag 100 ppm. everything else except for phos are good. add some phosphate remover to lower that.

 

Do a water change and stop dosing. It would be pretty hard to have Alk and Cal at those numbers with the Mg you have.... but either way, you don't need stuff that high. Normal sea water is 7-8 dKH, and 380 Ca.

You don't dose for PH.... alk will take care of that.... if your PH drops it is probably a function of CO2. PH will cycle through the day with the light cycle and if your house is closed up. Lots of variables. Let it be.

 

Yes... but don't confuse that with it being an acceptable daily fluctuation

stability is important. I'd say a daily swing in the range of .2-3 is fine and will be related to lights and air circulation.


I'd recommend getting your Mg over 1400, then test a day or two after that and see where your Mg, Alk, Ca are at. I'd expect Ca to go up and Alk to go down...

Don't raise Mg more than 100 ppm per day.