Really low ph

[franklinsreef]

Hi,
Hope someone can help.
My ph is really low. I’m using the Seneye monitor and it’s reading as low as 7.41? I have checked with an api test and it’s probably reading about 7.6 on that… still really off! Highest it’s hit in the last 3 days is 7.5

Tank is 4 weeks old. ph was 8.06 when tank was first set up.
Tank started with mix of dry rock/ dead Reef rock. Live sand.
other parameters:
KH is 7.2
Sal is 35
Ammonia 0.07
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 10
Temp 25.6

Have tested fresh mixed saltwater which reads 8.0
only just turned on skimmer, hasn’t altered the ph since being on.
Have 4 fish in tank, 2 clowns, Midas blenny, royal gramma.
Feeding mix of frozen mysis/ pellet
have I just missed something obvious?

 

[blaxsun]

What's the air quality like in your area? Your alkalinity is a tad low, and you may see some benefit to raising it to the 8-8.5dKH range.

 

[franklinsreef]

Hi, wasn’t too worried about the Kh just yet, as it’s mixing at the levels the salt is stating. Tropic Marin 7-8 and the ph is 8.0 in newly mixed water.Nothing in the tank to use alk yet.
Not sure about air quality in the area, we are semi rural, not in a built up area.
There are 5 of us in the house, so CO2 might be high but tank isn’t in an area where we generally are, and could it really drop that low, due to that?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I expect pH 7.4 is test error. I’d just monitor it for a few weeks.

 

[franklinsreef]

Thanks, I did wonder that, but api was also showing low too. (Albeit a bit higher) not the easiest to read though. Seneye slide is due to be changed in a couple of days. Will see what happens then. Might also just pop a sample into lfs.
Is there anything specific to cycling that could lower ph?

 

[ramesis]

Mine runs the same as yours. Between 7.3 and 7.8 Today I am having a good day... It is 7.7 right now but it is probably because I opened the back door for a while. I monitor it using the Apex's PH probe and confirmed it with a Hanna PH test. Like you I use Tropic Marin Pro. I do raise the DKH to around 8.5 I have a CO2 monitor and it reads around 800 to 900. If I open the window or a door in the house my PH can go up to 8.0 because the CO2 goes into the 500s or less but I can't leave a window open all the time. So I put a CO2 scrubber in a glass skimmer it gives me a little bit of a bump but I am always below 8.. It has gone down to 7.3 at times. The corals look Okay so I have learned to live with it and just keep my DKH between 8 and 9. I have a Nuvo AIO 15.

I tried buffers and they are a mess. PH will go up but so does the ALK and then the PH goes back down to what it was before or lower. I threw them all out. I have mostly LPS and they don't consume a lot of DKH so I can't really use Kalkwasser..

I feel your concern.... Try a CO2 scrubber, it will give you a little bit of a bump.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks, I did wonder that, but api was also showing low too. (Albeit a bit higher) not the easiest to read though. Seneye slide is due to be changed in a couple of days. Will see what happens then. Might also just pop a sample into lfs.
Is there anything specific to cycling that could lower ph?

Cycling lowers alk and pH. But if alk is normal, it is hard to attain pH 7.4 in an aerated aquarium.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Mine runs the same as yours. Between 7.3 and 7.8 Today I am having a good day... It is 7.7 right now but it is probably because I opened the back door for a while. I monitor it using the Apex's PH probe and confirmed it with a Hanna PH test. Like you I use Tropic Marin Pro. I do raise the DKH to around 8.5 I have a CO2 monitor and it reads around 800 to 900. If I open the window or a door in the house my PH can go up to 8.0 because the CO2 goes into the 500s or less but I can't leave a window open all the time. So I put a CO2 scrubber in a glass skimmer it gives me a little bit of a bump but I am always below 8.. It has gone down to 7.3 at times. The corals look Okay so I have learned to live with it and just keep my DKH between 8 and 9. I have a Nuvo AIO 15.

I tried buffers and they are a mess. PH will go up but so does the ALK and then the PH goes back down to what it was before or lower. I threw them all out. I have mostly LPS and they don't consume a lot of DKH so I can't really use Kalkwasser..

I feel your concern.... Try a CO2 scrubber, it will give you a little bit of a bump.

I donT believe those values are likely accurate. At pH 7.3 rock and sand and coral skeletons would be dissolving like the do inside a CaCO3/CO2 reactor.

 

[franklinsreef]

Cycling lowers alk and pH. But if alk is normal, it is hard to attain pH 7.4 in an aerated aquarium.

hoping it’s testing error then, will keep an eye on it once seneye slide is changed. Thank you.

 

[ramesis]

I donT believe those values are likely accurate. At pH 7.3 rock and sand and coral skeletons would be dissolving like the do inside a CaCO3/CO2 reactor.

I sure hope so because otherwise I'm in trouble. I tested PH today using the Hana colorimeter and it matched the PH probe at 7.7

 

[franklinsreef]

Mine runs the same as yours. Between 7.3 and 7.8 Today I am having a good day... It is 7.7 right now but it is probably because I opened the back door for a while. I monitor it using the Apex's PH probe and confirmed it with a Hanna PH test. Like you I use Tropic Marin Pro. I do raise the DKH to around 8.5 I have a CO2 monitor and it reads around 800 to 900. If I open the window or a door in the house my PH can go up to 8.0 because the CO2 goes into the 500s or less but I can't leave a window open all the time. So I put a CO2 scrubber in a glass skimmer it gives me a little bit of a bump but I am always below 8.. It has gone down to 7.3 at times. The corals look Okay so I have learned to live with it and just keep my DKH between 8 and 9. I have a Nuvo AIO 15.

I tried buffers and they are a mess. PH will go up but so does the ALK and then the PH goes back down to what it was before or lower. I threw them all out. I have mostly LPS and they don't consume a lot of DKH so I can't really use Kalkwasser..

I feel your concern.... Try a CO2 scrubber, it will give you a little bit of a bump.

Interesting that you are able to raise yours by opening a door. I’ve had double doors wide open ALL day today 4 ft away from tank and it’s stayed between 7.43 and 7.48. I’m thinking it has to be an error in testing.
Don’t want to jump too soon into trying to fix anything, but would rather know if I have an issue or not before adding corals.

 

[davidjmt]

Mine runs the same as yours. Between 7.3 and 7.8 Today I am having a good day... It is 7.7 right now but it is probably because I opened the back door for a while. I monitor it using the Apex's PH probe and confirmed it with a Hanna PH test. Like you I use Tropic Marin Pro. I do raise the DKH to around 8.5 I have a CO2 monitor and it reads around 800 to 900. If I open the window or a door in the house my PH can go up to 8.0 because the CO2 goes into the 500s or less but I can't leave a window open all the time. So I put a CO2 scrubber in a glass skimmer it gives me a little bit of a bump but I am always below 8.. It has gone down to 7.3 at times. The corals look Okay so I have learned to live with it and just keep my DKH between 8 and 9. I have a Nuvo AIO 15.

I tried buffers and they are a mess. PH will go up but so does the ALK and then the PH goes back down to what it was before or lower. I threw them all out. I have mostly LPS and they don't consume a lot of DKH so I can't really use Kalkwasser..

I feel your concern.... Try a CO2 scrubber, it will give you a little bit of a bump.

If you try balance from aquavitro(expensive brand from seachem) it will raise ph without affecting kh. Just make sure to follow instructions and have a good tester for ph

 

[ramesis]

If you try balance from aquavitro(expensive brand from seachem) it will raise ph without affecting kh. Just make sure to follow instructions and have a good tester for ph

I tried balance saw a small bump but then it went back to what it was before. I also saw some posts that it is impossible for it not to increase KH so I stopped using it. Does it work as advertised for you? How do you use it?

 

[jda]

If you really want to worry about pH, then recalibrate your probe, or get a new one, and buy a co2 monitor from Amazon or the like. Then, keep your indoor co2 below 700 (600 is better). This helps more than anything else, IMO, and is long lasting.

Most other things are temporary.

 

[LuizW13]

I sure hope so because otherwise I'm in trouble. I tested PH today using the Hana colorimeter and it matched the PH probe at 7.7

That's what my tank was running with a brand new probe before I added a co2 scrubber. Now my average is 7.84 and peaks around 8.05.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I sure hope so because otherwise I'm in trouble. I tested PH today using the Hana colorimeter and it matched the PH probe at 7.7

pH 7.7 is believable and not all that rare. it implies a lot of Co2 in your home air, or poor aeration at night.

pH 7.3 would need CO2 more than twice as high as at pH 7.7, into the dangerous for people zone.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If you try balance from aquavitro(expensive brand from seachem) it will raise ph without affecting kh. Just make sure to follow instructions and have a good tester for ph

You've been suckered by one of the most bogus lies in reefing.

That product is just a high pH alk supplement.

Good reason to not buy from Aquavitro.

 

[ramesis]

That's what my tank was running with a brand new probe before I added a co2 scrubber. Now my average is 7.84 and peaks around 8.05.

Oh!! What is your skimmer / CO2 Scrubber setup? I am using one with a glass skimmer but see minimum benefits. I don't think the glass skimmer moves enough air to make a big impact or I have something not setup right.

 

[ramesis]

pH 7.7 is believable and not all that rare. it implies a lot of Co2 in your home air, or poor aeration at night.

pH 7.3 would need CO2 more than twice as high as at pH 7.7, into the dangerous for people zone.

We have a mystery here then! Could it be from the RO/DI auto top off water dragging the PH down? I have a celling fan on to keep the tanks cool so I have a lot of evaporation.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

We have a mystery here then! Could it be from the RO/DI auto top off water dragging the PH down? I have a celling fan on to keep the tanks cool so I have a lot of evaporation.

Definitely not. Adding pH 7 pure water to seawater at pH 8.1 actually raises the pH above the seawater starting point. lol

That's one of the reefing wonders of chemistry.