PH Suggestions

[starmanres]

I made a newbie mistake and performed the KH test for attempting to measure Calcium. As my test showed lower every day, I continued to add Calcium to raise the test. When I finally realized what I was doing, my Alk was at 5 - my PH was 7.8 and my Calcium was over 800!

I have done a 25% water change over a week ago and now the Calcium is 640 (I know, still too high, but better). My ALK is 5.8 and my PH won't stay above 8.0 (It's 7.8 as I type...) I have a 120 Gallon tank with a 30 gallon sump and a 13 gallon refugium. I currently have 160 pounds of LR.

My ALK and PH are still low and I'm adding 3 1/2 teaspoons of both Seachem buffers (PH and ALK) every day... My Green Star Polyps are turning gray, my anemones are hiding under the LR, and I lost one of my clown fish yesterday...

Any suggestions would be appreciated!

Robert

 

[ChrisRD]

My suggestion would be to stop chasing the numbers and just do a few more large water changes. Give things a chance to settle down and get back into balance.

FWIW, a pH of 7.8 is a bit low, but shouldn't be causing any problems with coral health.

How is the circulation in the tank? Do you have plenty of surface agitation? Are you using a protein skimmer? Do you have a sump?

All of these things can contribute to more stable pH levels.

BTW,

 

[starmanres]

I have a 30 gallon sump with a Eheim 1262 @ 900 GPH. I also have 2 JBJ Powerheads @ 60 GPH and two MaxiJet 1200's positioned around the tank. I have an AquaC EV-120 through my sump.

How large of a water change would you suggest?

I did a 5 gallon change today. I have enough to do a 25 gallon change tommorrow... Should I think about doing more than that?

Thanks for your suggestions and welcoming me!

Robert

 

[hdtran]

Robert,

Ditto welcome to RDO.

When you report alkalinity, be sure to specify the units. There are two commonly used units, one is dkh (which is what I'm assuming you're using); the other is meq/l. Normal alkalinity in natural seawater is 2-3 meq/l, or around 5-8 dkh. Preferred alkalinity for aquaria is higher than nsw, or 3-4 meq (7-10 dkh). The conversion (not an exact factor, as meq & dkh are slightly different) is 1 meq/l ~~ 2.8 dkh.

You can change as much water as you like, as long as you match temperature and salinity (specific gravity). In a FO tank, I've changed 50-60% of the water in a single shot.

A 10-25% change should not cause any harm.

 

[ChrisRD]

I agree that with parameters well matched, a 50% water change should be fine and will definitely put a major dent in getting your water chemistry back on track.

If all you can do is a 25 gallon water change, that's OK, but if you can do more, something like 40-50 gallons would be even better.

Keep us posted on your progress.

 

[starmanres]

Ok...

I did a 30 gallon water change this afternoon. My PH is hovering around 7.91 so it has raised about .10 - which is good.

Should I be looking to do another 30 gallon change tomorrow or add some more buffers or just leave it alone... :lol:

I went seaching for my BTAs last night and got into a LR reconstruction project... How come if you move just two rocks they will NEVER go back to the same places?!? :!:

I put my BTAs in caves in the front of the tank where I can at least feed them now. One ate a big piece of shrimp, but the other one just lets it float away, but he's open and looks good.

I will post my testing results later. Thanks again for all the suggestions.

Robert

 

[ChrisRD]

I wouldn't worry too much about the pH at this ponit. Once your water chemistry comes back into balance, pH values should be normal if you're getting enough water movement/aeration.

BTW, how are you testing pH and when? If it's a kit, have you tried any other kits? If it's a probe/monitor have you calibrated it recently?

Also, how do you top-off evaporation?

 

[starmanres]

I have a pinpoint probe monitor for my PH. I calibrated it about three weeks ago and I occasionally test it with the drop method to ensure I'm in the ballpark.

I have my RODI system running through the wall into my sump hooked to a kent float valve. I really don't pay attention too much to it but the level remains constant.

So I should not make another water change on Friday? Just wait for it all to balance on it's own?

Again, Thanks!

Robert

 

[ChrisRD]

IMO the levels you're at now shouldn't cause any problems, but personally, I would do another large water change to help things along.

It's possible that the negative reaction you've seen from some of your corals lately is just a response to rapidly changing water parameters.

Also, you might consider using kalkwasser for evaporation top-off. This will help boost your pH levels and adds both Ca/Alk in balanced quantities so things can't get out of whack.

I prefer using kalkwasser top-off combined with a Ca reactor or a good, balanced two-part additive (if kalkwasser alone isn't enough) like C-Balance or B-Ionic rather than trying to supplement the Ca/Alk separately. IMO it's too easy for things to get out of whack that way unless you're testing frequently to keep close track.

JMO & HTH

 

[starmanres]

I made the second 30 gallon change today. The PH is hovering between 8.01 and 8.02

I would prefer 8.3 but we are gaining on it. The Green Star polyps are looking less beige and greener.

The anemones seem to like the higher PH as well.

Thanks for your help and suggestions!

Robert