Increasingly large PH spikes

[anen]

I am just starting to go live with my new tank and something that concerns me is increasingly large ph spikes. This tank has been set up for a couple of days now, but the live rock has been curing for a year. The only stuff in the tank is rock sand a couple of frags and hitchhikers in the form of pods and snails. I am also trying out a small amount of np biopellets (150ml maybe)

I have a reefkeeper elite controller that includes a ph probe. I checked it against an elos ph kit and the results seemed to match up on day one.

It's been hooked up for 3 days and since then I've gotten the following day spikes:

Day 1- max 8.1 , min 7.9
Day 2- max 8.3, min, 8.1
Day 3- 7pm 8.5, right now 8.1

Everyday is a sine wave pattern, peaking during the day, low at night.

I know an evening dip is normal, I didn't think anything about the fluctuations until I came home and saw the ph at 8.5. I then proceeded to do full water test.

My test kits gave me the following results:

Ph- 8.4ish
No nitrates
Po4 - somewhere between 0 and 0.5 I think, it's impossible to tell the difference between the shades of blue
Ca 300
Dkh 4

I was quite surprised Ca was so low, given that there is no sps frags and only one lps frag.

Do I have to be worried about something here or is the tank just trying to balance itself?

 

[chuck116]

Just an opinion , im very new to this stuff. Do you run a refugium ? do you run a reverse light cycle ? do you have your skimmer air tube going to a fresh air source outside ? also the weather and use of air conditioners or not have an effect on Ph.

Chuck & Anna Maria

 

[h2o]

when u get high ph swings its usualy means that your cal,alk,mg levels are off all of those 3 effect each other , do a 20%water change that will raise your numbers just a bit 4 now and get some B-ionic two part cal,alk and add as directed on the bottels do it slow . what salt mix do u use and how often u do a water change ?

 

[anen]

This is a brand new tank, running for less than a week. I'm using Instant Ocean. Just checked my salinity with a refractometer, 1.02, a little low. (Stupid hydrometers) My fuge isn't set up yet, waiting on the bulb. I do not have my skimmers air source connected to the outside although I should probably do that.

I should also be getting a BRS 2 part kit with pumps tomorrow in the mail.

 

[KathyC]

Ok, you know about the refractometer now. When you look to raise the salinity - do it s l o w l y !!! Over a matter of DAYS, not hours! Do it through water changes that have slighly higher salinity each time.
I will look for the calculator that tell you how to do it and post it shortly for you.

You will also find (if you test some new SW) that IO tends to run low in some respects (I think IO runs low Ca). So you will need to dose if you plan on staying with IO salt.

I would suggest first you get your SG up to where it belongs and then test again, you may find yout Alk & Ca come up somewhat on their own, and I expect the pH might be more stable as well (tho it will usually dip to a degree at night, even with a reverse lighting cycle on the fuge.

One other thing - even though you have cured rock & sand, it this is a new tank, you really might top think about going a tad slower as the TANK itself still needs to go through a cycle (meaning growing bacteria on the tank, plumbing, ...all surfaces)

Do you have a Magnesium test kit yet?

Going to look for that link for you...

 

[KathyC]

Here you go:
http://saltyzoo.com/SaltyCalcs/SalinityAdjust.php

 

[anen]

Thanks Kathy,
I have a mag test too, did not run it yet. I'm going to be topping off with SW over the next few days. No fish yet, so that's a good thing. Hmm... might switch to another salt mix after I finish this bucket.

 

[mcnuggget]

low alk = high ph swing
pls read up on the basics of:
the Relationship Between Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium and pH

 

[anen]

Ok, update on my situation. My salinity is almost at 1.025. For the past 2 days my ph peaked at 8.6 and troughed at 8.3. I tested my water today and got the following:
Nitrate 0
Phosphate I think .5 but the colors all look the same on my test kit For those of you using the Elos phosphate test, will the colors be opaque? Mine is very clear, and just has a tint of color. Does this mean 0 or should I be looking at the closest shade?

Calcium 400
DKH 7
Mag- I need to get a new kit. I opened it up for the 1st time and looks like something leaked and my reagent colors are off.

So should I be concerned about the high ph?

 

[anen]

I read somewhere that growing bacterial colonies in a new tank can be the cause of high ph, and that this will naturally lower itself. is this true?

 

[anen]

Bump
I wanna stock my tank!

 

[ZANYMASTER]

8.5 is a tad high but not bad.8.4 is more ideal for a high number.Water changes will fix it.

 

[anen]

I'm at 8.6 not 8.5... I will try a water change but I'm not sure it will fix it. I have a bucket of new saltwater sitting near the tank, and when I put my ph probe in there I get a very similar reading, like 8.5, don't know if that helps at all.

 

[cali_reef]

Add vinegar to lower your PH to where you think is ideal for you. Something is wrong with your PH probe if it goes back up after the vinegar addition.

Adding live stock before getting this right will lower your PH, as dead animals decompose.

 

[anen]

I've been reluctant to dose anything because if this is a chronic problem, then I will have to constantly dose whatever it is I'm using to lower my ph?

 

[beerfish]

Have you re-calibrated the probe to make sure it's accurate?

 

[anen]

It is a brand new set up, I calibrated it less than a week ago, and double checked it against an elos ph kit.

 

[cali_reef]

I've been reluctant to dose anything because if this is a chronic problem, then I will have to constantly dose whatever it is I'm using to lower my ph?

The PH should maintain\stay around 8.2ish if your Ca, Dkh, and Mg are balanced, bring it down slow with white vinegar.