pH advice please!

TheXpander

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Oct 19, 2020
Messages
138
Reaction score
176
Location
Scotland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi!

I’ve now set up my 50g fish only tank, Juwel 190 Trigon, original filter removed, Tetratec EX1200 canister, aquael heater and wave maker powerhead. Installed a RODI system, substrate of Caribsea and dry rock which LFS advised had dormant bacteria, activated with water. Salinity is 1.020 which I’m planning to raise to 1.025 to match LFS.
Added Dr. Tim’s One and Only and dosed with Dr. Tim’s ammonia 5 days ago, still reading around 0.25 with no nitrite yet.
Checked the pH tonight out of interest and found it to be 6.97 which really surprised me as I was expecting it to be nearer 8?
Can the ammonia have an effect on this or should I wait until cycled for an accurate reading?
Thanks!

C92FBFAB-9492-4B32-86D4-F13320869336.jpeg
 

Pistondog

5000 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 28, 2020
Messages
5,263
Reaction score
9,402
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Co2 in the water can cause this. Might come from ambient air exchange or tank livestock respiration.
Id guess air, since not much in tank.
Some might say bacteria might cause this, but I doubt there's enough in your tank yet, unless you get a bloom from the ammonia, cloudy water.
Open a window for a few hours and see if it drops, then you know its from the air.
 

Gobi-Wan

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 4, 2018
Messages
435
Reaction score
371
Location
St. Louis area, Illinois
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi!

I’ve now set up my 50g fish only tank, Juwel 190 Trigon, original filter removed, Tetratec EX1200 canister, aquael heater and wave maker powerhead. Installed a RODI system, substrate of Caribsea and dry rock which LFS advised had dormant bacteria, activated with water. Salinity is 1.020 which I’m planning to raise to 1.025 to match LFS.
Added Dr. Tim’s One and Only and dosed with Dr. Tim’s ammonia 5 days ago, still reading around 0.25 with no nitrite yet.
Checked the pH tonight out of interest and found it to be 6.97 which really surprised me as I was expecting it to be nearer 8?
Can the ammonia have an effect on this or should I wait until cycled for an accurate reading?
Thanks!

C92FBFAB-9492-4B32-86D4-F13320869336.jpeg
What test are you using? If you mixed RODI water with pretty much any standard saltwater aquarium salt it should give you a pH of around 8. Your surface agitation gives you your gas exchange, as @Pistondog mentioned. You said your filtration is a canister? So you’re not getting any gas exchange from a sump. Do you have a glass top on the aquarium? It looks like you have a power head pointed across the surface of the water- this is a good start. Since you don’t have a sump you may want to consider leaving the top of the aquarium open or getting a screen top if you have it closed. Your livestock will need the gas exchange of the disturbed surface to oxygenate the water. And welcome to R2R!
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top