PH problem

[Grandreef 2]

I've been adding Seachem PH buffer to my aquarium sence monday and my PH monitor keep reading 7.85 -7.89. My skimmer is off and I took out my activated carbon. So what is happening to my additive? Should I add more? Also my 3 chromises live happily in the tank along with my 2 nassarius snails and 3 hermit crabs along with my emerald crab.

[bertoni]

pH buffers usually are useless for pH problems. The cause of low pH is high carbon dioxide in the water, usually due to high carbon dioxide in the air. In addition, the pH buffers add alkalinity. I'd measure that parameter and work from there.

pH at 7.85 is fine, especially for a morning reading. I wouldn't worry, but if you want to try to raise pH, I'd suggest aerating a cup of water outside for a few hours, and then checking the pH. That'll tell you whether the problem is carbon dioxide, or a measurement problem.

[spydr]

is the ph moniter calibrated properly?

[tangfish]

Question the, what is the difference in low PH due to O2 and an ORP reading?

Thanks

[bertoni]

Oxygen doesn't affect the pH, but low oxygen will lead to a low ORP reading. Does that answer your question?

[Grandreef 2]

SPYDR- Yes my PH meter should be callibrated near dead on Iy took awhile but it is callibrated.

It could be because of CO2 because we are in the dead of winter which meens that we cant open the windows for fresh air.

So this wont effect my livestock in any way?

[HighlandReefer]

A pH level between 7.8 - 8.5 is fine. There have been several Reef Tanks of the Month whose pH dropped below 7.8 on occassion.

If you want to raise your pH some, I would use lime water (kalk) as your supplement for alk and calcium.

Randy goes into more detail in this article:

Low pH: Causes and Cures
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.htm

[Grandreef 2]

Sence I have you all. I need to add some calcium to my aquarium because I just added a toadstool coral to my aquarium and I need a 1 gallon jug. We are in the mittle of a black ice snow storm and I was woundering If I could use a 1/2 gallon milk container? Should I place the coral on top or on the bottom of the aquarium?

[tmz]

Why do you think you need to add calcium?What is your current level of calcium .alkalinity and salinity? A sacrophyton will need some calcium carbonate but not as much as a stony coral and your slat mic might be all you need. Can't really help without knowing more about your tank.

[Grandreef 2]

My Calcium levels are a little low.
Ammonia-<0.02
PH-7.90
Nitrate-2
Calcium- 380
Alkalinity- 3.5
Salinity-1.024

[bertoni]

380 ppm is fine in my opinion, but you could bump it up a bit with some calcium chloride.

[tangfish]

Yes, thanks for the input bertoni.

[bertoni]

You're welcome! Good luck!

[tmz]

I agree 380ppmis ok. Your sacrophyton should do fine with that. Raisng it is ok too via calcium chloride as noted.

[borcu]

randy how much ph is deadly? is it possible to alive at 7.0 ph level?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

What kind of creature?

A fish may be OK.

A hard coral skeleton will be dissolving, however, and pH will never drop to pH 7.0 in a marine system with reasonable alkalintiy unless there is a catastrophic accident, like a CO2 tank discharging into the water, etc.

[borcu]

2 months old tank. salt red sea. no additives. no co2 system. only have mushroom and xenia. all are fine.
kh 5.8 dkh
ca 700
mg 1200
ph 7.2

how is this possible?

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I suspect pH measurement error. It suggests way more CO2 than is present in normal seawater.

How did you measure it?

[borcu]

by salifert.

[bertoni]

That looks like an error to me.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree, it is likely error.