pH buffering

[Anonymous]

Hello all!

I'm currently cycling with the following 75 gallon tank parameters:

-80 lbs live rock (tb saltwater) / 40 lbs live sand /20 lbs crushed coral sand / wet-dry & Seaclone skim / no fish or inverts

As expected my ammonia and nitrites are at lethal levels, so I'm performing 20% water changes (RO/DI with Reef Crystals) every two days or so. Hopefully, only a couple more weeks of this at most.

However, I'm concerned about my validated pH results--which consistently show at 7.98 to 8.02. This seems too low and I'm reluctant to add chemicals to increase it, especially if it naturally wants to hover around 8.0. How do I buffer the pH to the desired 8.2-8.3 range without the large base of argonite sand? Or is a low pH a necessary symptom of a cycling tank that will later self-correct?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Anonymous]

All of the reactions taking place in the tank are serving to drop the pH. FWIW, 8.0 is OK, especially since you don't have much in the tank.

You can add some buffer now if you want. It won't hurt. But you're likely to change out a bunch of water in the next few weeks, so it's probably unnecessary.

FWIW, I believe that it is another myth that calcium carbonate sand does anything significant to the calcium, alkalinity, or pH values, in a properly functioning reef tank.

Evidence: many people have run these types of tanks for many years, and they have a good handle on the amount of sand that needs to be replaced over time. While it does dissolve (adding calcium, and possibly alkalinity, the latter is an open question in my mind), the amount is small compared to the additives otherwise made over the years.

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Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Burplet

Re: your PH levels, you should not even bother measuring this untill your tank is cycled, forget about adding anything until your denitrifying bacteria have colonised and your readings on Am/Nit/Nitrate are correct.

You can then get a correct reading on your PH/Alk. and take the necessary course of action through additions.

Sounds like you are ( like i always am ) a touch overeager, that wait whilst the tank is cycling alway's seems so long !


Best of luck.

G1K/Urchin.

 

[Anonymous]

As has been stated, don't worry about it too much yet. When you have finished cycling, then check your pH and alkalinity. If the pH is still low, then come back here and we will sort it out for you

And don't worry too much about absolute values either, test kits are not really accurate enough to take them too seriously and exact numbers are not what you should be working towards with your tank. If it does well at 8, then leave it there. If you think it might do better, then start to look into reasons why it might be there, or how to get it up.

 

[Anonymous]

You are cycling your tank with LR and have no fish or inverts (which is good) and you are doing water changes already??? Why work when you don't have to? IMO and IME there is no need to worry or hassle with water changes during a cycle with LR. Let it be...it will do its thing in time. No fish to kill anyhow right? As far as PH...as long as it hovers right there...let it be as well. I wouldn't be overly concerned if you are simply cycling your tank. The one thing I would do is just test parameters on a very regular basis so as to monitor any spikes/changes that occur throught the cycle. This will also help you to determine if and when the tank has cycled. Just my opinion, but you'll get lots and lots of many different opinions on these boards. You just have to weigh them all out one by one and make a good educated decision from them. GOOD LUCK!!!!


Central FL

 

[Anonymous]

I disagree with the above post. Unless you have some rock that is totally devoid of macroscopic life, there are plenty of things to try and keep alive. Live rock commonly comes with small coral colonies, coralline algaes, crabs, snails, molluscs, etc. Diligent water changes can keep many of them well during a cycle.

Changing the water often seems to have helped quite a bit avoiding algae outbreaks for me. In fact, I've never dealt with nuisance algae with this method, during a cycle or after. I have always changed out about 20% every couple of days, using ultrapure (18.3 M-ohm-cm) UV/RO/DI water + IO salt.

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http://members.xoom.com/FriscoReef/

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks much for the pH advice...I'll quit worrying about it while I cycle out. I've also been measuring at night (lights are out 20 hrs/day anyhow), so I figure that may also be a factor (but not sure why)

I've been wondering about the point of the water changes. I do them in an attempt to keep more life on the rock and IMO, its always better to be safe than sorry.

Incidentally, the ammonia just crashed below 0.25. Nitrites are still sky high, but I feel I'm rounding the final turns now.

In a hobby without many absolutes, I've found one in that going slow is always optimal (for biological and financial reasons)!

First fish (which will be quarantined soon): 6 green chromis

Thanks again.