Low pH on fresh mixed salt water???

[kingfisher62]

Why is my freshly mixed saltwater have such a low pH reading?
it is about neutral and I am usin "reef crystals"
mixed with a powerhead for a couple of hours

[pescadero]

i would check on a couple of things:

1. check pH on your source water
2. did you add salt to the complete amount of water, or did you add salt to the water, add more water, add more salt, etc. IIRC I read somewhere that unless you add salt to the complete amount of water, calcium precipitation could lower your pH.

[rigleautomotive]

high co2 will cause it.if you vigoursly aerate it with a air stone and fresh air it should go up.or check your probe

[kingfisher62]

Airating now with a power head and venturi valve!
I used filtered water so the pH should start as neutral!
I added 1.5 cups of salt to 3gallons water then mixed.
I have some "proper Ph 8.3" sould I use that ? I heard that i should us super dkh .
I also remixed the dry salt pouring back and fourth into two buckets and just made a fresh batch to see if that helped!
Thanks for the help?

Any other advice????

[rigleautomotive]

what are you using to measure ph.something does not make sense here.the lowest i have seen is 7.8 for fresh mix

[SDguy]

Do you aerate it first?

[rigleautomotive]

same thing i said sd,dont make sense,he saying the ph is 7.0

[kingfisher62]

Ok.
I judged by memory it is more like 7.6 after looking at chart
The aerated mix seems to be coming up plus i added a touch of buffer

[kingfisher62]

BTW , I started aerating after I mixed the salt

[rigleautomotive]

if you are judging it on a test kit,they are notoriously inaccurate.i would not base any additions on a reading from a test kit.reef crystals already test on the high side for alk so adding buffer is not advised.

[bertoni]

I suspect the test kit is not working, if it's giving a pH of 7.6 for freshly-mixed saltwater. You could try aerating the bucket outdoors for a few hours, in case the problem is a high indoor carbon dioxide level. The venturi isn't needed, so if it's making a mess, it can be removed.

[kingfisher62]

The test kit is getting old so it might be off, guess i will have to invest in a electonic one. Any suggestions?
You were right rigleautomotive after adding the buffer the alk is a little high in the tank. So i will probably give another small water change today to lower it.
thanks everyone for your help!

[rigleautomotive]

pinpoint makes a good ph monitor or controller.they start at around 100 .it is a valuable tool to tell when stuff starts to go wrong.i would not recommend milwalkee monitor.not very accurate and the probes dont last as long as pinpoint.