Very Low p.h. during cycling! How to fix?

[Ryand63]

So I'm cycling my 46 gallon and its only been about 4 days but my p.h. was at 8.2 the first day and now is at 7.8-7.9! How can I safely raise this without having to constantly repeat it?

[sbaddley]

My PH was low until after the cycle was complete. I tried PH Up to get it from 7.9 to 8.2 and the next day it was 7.9 again. I was told not to worry about it during the cycle and sure enough, after the tank cycled, my PH was a consistant 8.2.

[Ryand63]

ok thanks, did you have any live rock in there at the time?

[sbaddley]

Yes. 40 lbs of Live Rock in a 28g tank.

[IslandCrow]

Even if it wasn't during the cycle, I wouldn't be overly concerned with a 7.8-7.9 PH, especially if 7.8 is the low end (if you don't know already, your PH will generally be lowest just before your lights come on in the morning). Not ideal, but certainly not an emergency either.

There's a good article in the Reef Chemistry forum (it's in the sticky with all the other articles) that talks about good ways to raise your PH. Although I just told you not to worry at this point, it is a good read, as low PH is a very common problem in reef tanks.

[Ryand63]

Thanks Islandpro and Sbaddley. Sorry If i got the names wrong, I can't see the last posts! But i wanted to add maybe 10 lbs of lr to help the cycle along and just get something in the tank. You think the low ph will be ok to introduce some live rock?

[sbaddley]

I'd add the rock now. Each time you add LR, you'll start a small cycle.

[crvz]

how are you testing pH? I wouldnt trust the results of any test kit, only that of a recently calibrated probe. And as also pointed out, any value over 7.8 does not generally require any adjustment.