Low PH?? Wat's the cause??

[RAV-65]

Hi all,

been buffering my Magesium the past few weeks, it is now at about 1300ppm, dkh at 8-9dkh, Calcium at 380ppm... Strange thing is, why is my PH still at 8.06?? ( using pinpoint monitor )... Can anyone provide some insight, all this water chemistry is getting me confused!!

[shoelevy]

try raising Ca to 450ppm

maybe that's the prob

or else sth is generating acids...tt could mean sth rotting...that's wat i deduced after reading my jc chem note just now

haha

[Achilles Tang]

When do you measure your PH? At the beginning of the day after the night cycle? Your PH levels will be low as a result of zero photosynthesis process (leading to increase oxygen levels which helps increase PH) and an increase in carbon dioxide levels building up (which depresses PH).

If you're using a Calcium reactor, you will also see a depressed PH especially if you need to overdose (a problem in SPS tanks or heavily loaded coral tanks).

If your water quality isn't tip-top, and there is an increase in organic load (overfeeding, overstocking, poor skimming), these will acidify your water, causing your PH to drop too.

PH levels will rise during the day cycle when photosynthesis is in full bloom and will peak just before lights off. Do your PH test then.

As long as your PH doesn't drop below 7.8 and increase beyond 8.6, it's within normal operating parameters... although a stable & constant PH of around 8.2 is best but hard to achieve.

Calcium reactor users who overdrive their units can use a kalkwasser reactor to counter the low PH problem. Kalkwasser has high PH, fyi.

[RAV-65]

There are no casualties and also the skimming isn't doing too badly...

normally dun overfeed, tink I better try dosing some kalk.... the PH at the end of the lighting cycle is about 8.1 only...

[lightningstrike]

bring ur ph up to 8.2 or 8.3 at the peak of ur photoperiod........ then monitor and see how........ anyway, 8.1 is quite fine, dun see why u shld worry 2 much abt it.

btw, r u running a CR? coz that may be the source of ur low pH if it is not hooked up properly.

[RAV-65]

bring ur ph up to 8.2 or 8.3 at the peak of ur photoperiod........ then monitor and see how........ anyway, 8.1 is quite fine, dun see why u shld worry 2 much abt it.

btw, r u running a CR? coz that may be the source of ur low pH if it is not hooked up properly.

Not using CR, dat's why I'm stumped, at the end of the photo-period everyday, not even 8.2!! thought it be around 8.4-8.5... but nvm, slowly buffering it up...

[reef2]

Not using CR, dat's why I'm stumped, at the end of the photo-period everyday, not even 8.2!! thought it be around 8.4-8.5... but nvm, slowly buffering it up...

try to calibrate yr PH monitor using both PH7.0 and 4.0 solutions. if still not resolve, try drip kalk.