PH concerns

[ecam]

SO I have a basement setup now. I frag tank and 1 DT tank (180). The problem im having is the PH is not going over 7.5. I ran an airline out of the bsmt to under my deck (didnt want to run through the deck and out) to prevent insecticide and stuff like that from nearby gardens. The line comes in from outside into a nextreef reactor w\ carbon and then continues to the skimmers

The line really didnt make a difference the PH is still 7.6. I calibrated the probes again to make sure.. and it seems like everything is okay. Any suggestions on how to get the PH up.


Alk is currently at 7.9.....

 

[jsker]

Have you considered testing the ph with a test kit? There are ph buffer the you can purchase.

 

[ecam]

that was going to be my next step.... but the probes are all new... that would really suck to find out that 3 probes are bad.....

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

DO NOT use a buffer. It is almost never the best way to raise pH.

Recalibrate and, if still needed, try the aeration tests in this article to diagnose the source of the CO2 that is lowering the pH:


http://www.reefedition.com/ph-and-the-reef-aquarium/

 

[ecam]

thanks Randy.... I was hoping to snag a reply from you ;)

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing. :)

 

[ecam]

Thanks everyone for all your help. When the PH didnt change after either aeration test. I decided to check the calibration solution itself. I purchased PINPOINT 4 7 and 10 and calibrated and lo and behold everything is reading normal now... Swings are 7.95 to 8.20 instead of 7.4 to 7.9.

Thanks everyone for the ideas!!!! and assitance