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BBall4
08/10/2006, 11:59 AM
Hi everyone,

Two weeks ago I started a new 17 Gallon SW tank, sor far I have

1 Foxface Lo (I relize that he will get way too big for my tank)
2 Hermit Crabs
22 Lbs. Live rock
20 Lbs. Live Sand

My main question is that I can't seem to get my PH level up and stay up, I've been dosing wth Reef Buffer that's supposed to raise the PH to 8.3, but it's not. When I test it it's around 8.0, which I've been doing for the past week everyday, and dosing it accordingly. My KH level is 14 which I believe is from the dosing of the Reef Buffer. I've been reading about this and haven't been able to understand what I need to do to adjust my PH level. Is it the CO2 level in the water that is making the PH be low?

Also I'm starting to see some brown algae growing on my sand is this good?

Thanks for any help.

puffer21
08/10/2006, 12:01 PM
[welcome]

a ph of 8.0 is fine and you dont need to really get it any higher.

Dazza888
08/10/2006, 12:05 PM
yes 8.0 is ok ... pH reaches its hi during hte day n lows during the nite depending on the amt of photosynthesis thats going on ... so with 8.0 as a mean n very small deviation is fine...-

sir_dudeguy
08/10/2006, 02:07 PM
yes 8 is fine...but yes, you need to get that foxface out, unless you're getting a bigger tank in the near future.

BBall4
08/10/2006, 04:54 PM
Ok I wont worry about the PH then, for my specific gravity I have it at around 1.019. That's what the LFS told me to keep it at alittle low, but I see that most people have there's around 1.024 or so. Should I raise it up alittle?

All that I have for lighting right now is (2) 25W Incadesent lights and one 15W floursent, what would be a good light fixture for my tank. I hopefully plan to have corrals at some point. I've found one light fixture of compact flouresents that's 30" and 65W would this work for reefs?

Thanks.

kau_cinta_ku
08/10/2006, 04:57 PM
i would move your sg to 1.025 or 1.026 slowly over a couple of days so you don't shock anything. How are you checking your sg.
as for lighting that all depends on what corals and such you want to keep (soft, lps,sps)

sir_dudeguy
08/10/2006, 05:03 PM
imo your sg is way low...go for 1.025 or 6 like kau said.
when i went to rocky point in mexico a week ago, i was curious about what the sg in the sea was...i have one of those deep six hydrometers...it always shows that its 0.002 less than it really is (for example i keep my sg at 1.025 all the time...they hydrometer shows 1.023 all the time) so anyways i tested some water from the sea of cortez and it showed up at 1.026 on that hydrometer..so it was really probably 1.028 or something.

so i dont know why we keep our sg lower than what it is in nature (i do reallize tho that different seas have dif. sg's) but 1.019 is pretty low imo.

bertoni
08/10/2006, 06:37 PM
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php

That article covers low pH problems. 8.0, especially if measured in the morning before the lights go on, isn't that bad.

The Reef Buffer will raise pH temporarily, but also adds alkalinity, so I'd suggest running an alkalinity test.

Brown film on the sand is normal for a new tank, and might go away on its own.