PH low.... help

[tgp4274]

ok so I know I'm not sopose to chase PH but have tried everything I can think of.....
I've been fighting my PH for acouple months and it's at 7.5
I've tried just about everything I can think of to get it to come up....
windows open
ph buffer
and am even aerating my tank at night with a air pump and stone in my sump return n nothing I do will get it to come up......
at moment I'm only doseing 2mil of alk and cal a day to try n keep things steady..
everything looks good in tank tho too
thanks guys n girls :)

 

[Diesel]

How you test your PH?

 

[jsker]

Check your PH test kit. Or get another test kit to compare.

 

[twilliard]

Be careful with this.
Drastic measures to alter PH can have drastic results
Understanding PH will help a ton.
Alkalinity, calcium and magnesium
That is the combination of buffers within your water

 

[StrangeDejavu]

I'd be surprised if your pH were truly 7.5. I rarely open the windows in Florida because of the heat, so I end up with a lot of CO2 in the house. That CO2 ends up in the tank, and even with low Alk from using regular Instant Ocean, lowest I saw was 7.8 in my tank. I would agree that your pH test needs calibrated or replaced.

 

[Diesel]

Bringing your skimmer airline to the outside through a wall will help but not everybody can do that.
Inside Co2 levels can be as high as 1100+ ppm as outside Co2 will stagger at 300 to 400 ppm.
Lower Co2 in a constant supply will bring up your PH.

 

[tgp4274]

have a digital ph hand held meter and api test kit n they both show about the same at 7.5....
alk at 10.9 hanna
cal at 420 red sea
mag at 1500 red sea
I am also running 2 skimmers at the moment in my sump only cause I can... lol
been thinking about running a line outside to my skimmers and my night time air pump.. but have never noticed a difference in my ph even with all the windows open for a week..
am using bakeing soda for my alk n thought about switching to kalk but at 2mil's a day I don't think it would make a difference...
any other ideas????

 

[Diesel]

Shut one skimmer down.
You bringing extra Co2 in your water.
Do you have the possibility to do a Co2 test?
Also test PH in the morning and again on the highest intensity from your lights.

 

[morpheas]

Where is your tank located? Is opening a door in the same room for an hour or two a possibility? Also can you verify your pH with a third kit? It's a pretty low number to be true...

 

[tgp4274]

just started running the 2nd skimmer... been fighting ph for like 6 months.....
oh reading never changes as far as I can tell no matter what time have done test...
I have like 6 api ph kits I got so could maybe try like 4 kits at a time...
tanks in living room infront of front door.. door faces south so I get a good breeze thru the house right past the tank..

 

[tgp4274]

bump

 

[Mattrg02]

You don't have gas appliances, do you? I had an apartment with a gas stove that I cooked on every day. No vent either. My ph was always low. Wound up with a lot of stn before losing ALL sps.

Bought a house with electric stove. No more low ph.

 

[tgp4274]

yes... furnace and stove are gas... but it 90 here now so no furnace.. lol
n stove only runs like twice a week as not want to heat up house...

 

[Mattrg02]

yes... furnace and stove are gas... but it 90 here now so no furnace.. lol
n stove only runs like twice a week as not want to heat up house...

Got a proper vent on the stove? Burning gas releases c02 I believe.

 

[morpheas]

I don't believe it's a co2 problem because you said you open windows for some time you have plenty of air flow in front of the tank and that doesn't make a difference for you... Did you measure after having windows/doors open for a couple of hours and no change?

 

[tgp4274]

yep..... I have had them open for days n nights for like 3 week with no noticeable change.... that's what driving me nuts.... :/

 

[morpheas]

That 7.5 number seems too low to be true no matter what. It could be the case but i find it hard to believe... I know you said you have a lot of api kits and a handheld but could you maybe try one more like a salifert? That number just doesn't sit right with me especially since you say all fish and coral is good. With pH at 7.5 corals would be miserable and fish have a hard time i think.

Sorry nothing else comes to mind right now other than check and double check and triple check :)