Buffering Issue--tanks A Mess

[iannozzi]

Sorry to bother you guys with this issue, however last night I installed a PH monitor, it showed my PH at 8.03, in the morning I had a PH of 7.93--not too bad a drop--however that is an issue for later, in an effort to raise my PH I added Reef Buffer--per the directions--my tanks has been a cloud storm ever since and the tank is white--does this crap go away? PH is now reading 7.54--the something screw up the calibration? I have several XEnia and they are all thriving--I've used my xenia as a PH gauge, prior to my use of this monitor--any words of wisdom on rectifying this? What is the best way to raise the PH

[OnTheReef]

First of all, calibrate your pH monitor and do a sanity check with a pH test kit, probes can be WAYYY off. I don't know the active ingredient in your buffer, but the whiteness could be lots of things: fine bubbles, some kind of precipitation going on, dust and so on. I'd check for an aspirating or cavitating device and put a sponge (only temporarily!) somewhere in your circulation system and see if you can clear the water up a bit.

For the future, I always pre-dissolve powder additives in warm salt water with a heater and a powerhead (in a blender if it's stubborn!) and if it does anything "funny" like develop flocculant, fail to dissolve or turn the water some unexpected color, I toss it and try again.

[mbbuna]

AFAIK reef buffer is just baking soda, adding that will raise your Alk but drop your PH. if you take baking soda and spread it out on a cookie sheet and bake it in the oven at 300 for an hour you will drive off water and CO2 then when you add it it will raise both Alk and PH you can use this to tell you how much to add.

http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

[jeffbrig]

Rule #1: Ignore any directions on the bottle that give fixed dosing instructions (i.e. "dose 2 tablespoons per 100g weekly"), since all tanks are different.

Rule #2: Don't add anything you're not measuring for.

A low pH does not automatically mean you need to buffer alkalinity. First, you need to determine why pH is low.

If you measure alkalinity and find it to be low, dose something to raise alkalinity. But you MUST understand what's in the addtive you will be dosing, and what effects it will have on the tank and it's pH (especially in the short term). It sounds like you drove alkalinity too high and triggered a precipitation event (which probably trashed both your alk and calcium levels).

Once you get everything cleared up, start testing calcium and alkalinity. Use this calculator to determine any corrections you might want to make:
Reef Chemistry Calculator
http://home.comcast.net/~jdieck1/chem_calc3.html

Once everything is back to normal levels, if your pH is still low follow the suggestions in this article.
Low pH: Causes and Cures
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php