HELP! ph too low

[NanoPerson67]

i tested my water and everything is fine except the ph is 7.8!!!!!yesterday i took out my powerhead... idk if that has anything to do with it... i also topped off my water today. around half a cupish.. my ph tqo days ago was 8.2.... omg... im worried.. my zoanthids arent all the way open but their open... my mushroom was closed but it opened back up... by leather croal is closed still the same like b4... my original plan was to do a water change but the water i mixed had ammonia in it for some reason...and the ph was 7.8... the power head i took out of my tank was placed into the bucket i mixed the water in... after i decided not to change the water i put the power head back in.. maybe the water head from the powehead got it?? but it's probably too little.. also maybe some of the test liquid got mixed with my tank water when i was testing and that might be the cause?? or i might have added to much r/o water... my ammonia is 0 and my nitrite is 0.... my ammonia looks like 0 and between 0.25... but im sure it;s o... how do i raise my ph?? or should i just wait?? maybe putting the powerhead back in and adding the r/o water and maybe some test liquid contamination?? i alywasy rinse by test tubes with r/o water.. what should i do??? my hands kinda smelled like the tested water.. like chemically.. what do u think i should do?? is 7.8 toxic?? maybe im overreacting...

forgot to mention i buffered my r.o water 2 days ago.. my lfs told me to do so... a day ago everything was perfect... all my corals were blooming..

 

[beerfish]

Please get a book. You shouldn't have any corals.

 

[NanoPerson67]

Please get a book. You shouldn't have any corals.

why is everyone saying get a book? cant you help me get an answer???? no one ever answers my questions... and why shouldnt i have corals??

 

[beerfish]

and why shouldnt i have corals??

That's why you should get a book.

You need to do some serious research before you start ANY saltwater tank. You're trying to start a small reef tank, which is one of the most difficult fish tanks you can attempt, and you're asking basic questions about temperature, and pH. You're also trying to give other people information when you don't actually know what you're doing.

Almost every successful reefer here has done extensive reading, and the others can probably tell you how much money and time they spent trying to figure out the right way to do things.

You need to start reading about the hobby and do things right or you are most likely going to kill a lot of livestock, waste a lot of money, and spend a lot of time wondering why your tank is failing.

 

[beerfish]

why is everyone saying get a book?

The fact that many people have now told you this (and most have advised you get the same book), should tell you something.

 

[NanoPerson67]

That's why you should get a book.


You need to do some serious research before you start ANY saltwater tank. You're trying to start a small reef tank, which is one of the most difficult fish tanks you can attempt, and you're asking basic questions about temperature, and pH. You're also trying to give other people information when you don't actually know what you're doing.

Almost every successful reefer here has done extensive reading, and the others can probably tell you how much money and time they spent trying to figure out the right way to do things.

You need to start reading about the hobby and do things right or you are most likely going to kill a lot of livestock, waste a lot of money, and spend a lot of time wondering why your tank is failing.

well can you still help me answer my question please? at least what you think is happening.. im not saying my corals are dying.. their still fine.. im just wondering why their not as open... the zoanthids are pretty open but not to the fullest.. and the mushroom also.. maybe because i just topped off the water with r/o buffered water. idk.... im just gonna do fowlr of my corals arent well...im pretty sure everything is fine... their probably just aggitated and stressed... im gonna leave everything alone for a few days and see what happens...

and i will try to get my hands on that book... just please answer my questions.. i cant go get the book to answer my questions that quickly... i feel like everyone doesnt care about my questions and are just saying to go get a book like they dont even care... i know the book will help me but peoples opinions help also

 

[Widdy]

Forget the book for a minute, while books can provide the information you seek and adds your library; also in my case, makes me look more intelligent when guests come over.

2 pHD students from Stanford University created a wondrous tool called Google. Here's what I found in a few seconds, and I've found them to be invaluable articles when I was starting out (~2 years ago), give it a go.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php

and more particularly to your question(s):

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php

Good luck and happy reading!

 

[rkaragozler]

Nano, don't take this the wrong way, but I personally did 2 months of research before I even put water into my tank. We are all here to help each other out, but most of the questions you are asking you should know already.
Good Luck with your setup, and happy reefing

 

[NanoPerson67]

figured out why.... since the only thing thats gotten in my tank today is r/o water for top off... im pretty sure it's because i added too much r/o water for top off.. also taking out the power head and adding it back caused stress on the corals due to a different flow in a short amount of time... my sg also probably dropped from 1.025 due too too much top off... the vorals still have their bright colors.. just not opened all the way... im pretty sure in a few days itll be fine... im not going to mess with my tank for a few days either.. also i am now going to get my water premixed with salt at my lfs from now on at the same sg.. everything should be fine... ill do a water change this saturday when i buy my water... i also had the smell of chemicals from cleaning the test tubes and the solution to test my ph... but im sure it was too little to make a difference.. i used to put the tubes directly in the tank but now i take the water out first.. my hands did have a smell of the resedue chemicals on it.. but i rinsed them off with r.o water anyways... most likely it't because i added to mcuh r.o water for top off changing the sg and causing stress... and the sudden addition of the power head added back again... i used the powerhead to mix saltewater which had some ammonia in it for some reason... im currently not going to use that saltwater anymore...

 

[tynman]

Well Im not going to tell you or not to get a book but do look around and ask all the questions.. I did no research and put the fish and all kinds of coral in with out knowing what I was doing and it all worked out Im still at it after 2 years. But now for the water make sure you check your water for pH when your lights have been on for a while cause that can cause it to go up and down. But you want to check you Alk in the tank that should be any where from 8 to 11. I think that is more important and check your cal and mag too. my tank runs at about 7.80 to 8.10 different day different number... I have tried everything I just changed salts and Im dosing everyday with 2 parts, but I do have sps so they need a little more attention.. so Im in the game a while and Im still dumb founded at times with what is going on with my tank.. but you roll with the punches.. good like and have fun with it...

 

[NYreefNoob]

get a fw tank less worry and things to go wrong, i as well as many others have told you to slow down. we arent telling you this because we don't want you to have a tank, we are telling you this so you dont kill livestock. and keep wasting money and become THAT GUY that the lfs doesnt want in the store, do some research for yourself, and every litle thing that comes up research instead of just asking. all or most of us have no problem in helping you or giving advise. but hate giving advise if the person isnt going to listen. for a first tank you really jumped into the wrong type of system and size.

 

[NanoPerson67]

Well Im not going to tell you or not to get a book but do look around and ask all the questions.. I did no research and put the fish and all kinds of coral in with out knowing what I was doing and it all worked out Im still at it after 2 years. But now for the water make sure you check your water for pH when your lights have been on for a while cause that can cause it to go up and down. But you want to check you Alk in the tank that should be any where from 8 to 11. I think that is more important and check your cal and mag too. my tank runs at about 7.80 to 8.10 different day different number... I have tried everything I just changed salts and Im dosing everyday with 2 parts, but I do have sps so they need a little more attention.. so Im in the game a while and Im still dumb founded at times with what is going on with my tank.. but you roll with the punches.. good like and have fun with it...

thanks for understanding so much =). i am reading on alot of helpful articles that people have given me. im am going to try and get a book on saturday. im not going to "mess" with my tank until saturday, when i get pre mixed salt water at my lfs. the water will be the exact sg and they can test my alk and calc for me. i just read an articale and it sates how i need to add buffer (limewater) but doing so also i need to add a 2 part system. this hobby is getting more and more expensive =(... i need to get a job....lol.. for now i am going to keep an eye on my corals. like i said the corals are probably a little closed dure to too much top off changing the sg. and the sudden flows.

 

[NanoPerson67]

get a fw tank less worry and things to go wrong, i as well as many others have told you to slow down. we arent telling you this because we don't want you to have a tank, we are telling you this so you dont kill livestock. and keep wasting money and become THAT GUY that the lfs doesnt want in the store, do some research for yourself, and every litle thing that comes up research instead of just asking. all or most of us have no problem in helping you or giving advise. but hate giving advise if the person isnt going to listen. for a first tank you really jumped into the wrong type of system and size.

i understand where everyone is coming from now. rite now i am reading articles on reefkeeping.com saturday im going to TRY and buy a book and read read read.... i realized theres alot more i need to know. i have kept fowlr... it seemed pretty easy.. i never even tested my water and i lasted for a good 7 months.. but this is wayyy harder and i realized how much time it takes... rite now im leaving my tank alone and just reading. all i will be doing is top offs when necessary and a water change on saturday.. i am not going to mix my own water anymore. i will buy it premixed because i do not have a refractometer at the moment. the store has a refractometer they can match my sg... they also do free tests.. i need to test my alk calc.... my ph is around 7.8. i probably dont have enough aeration, but i do have a power head near the sufrace... maybe the alk is too high?? maybe my buffer messed everything up... i read that after i add buffer (limewater) i need add a 2 part system.. whcih i have not even done yet.. for now im going to read.. let my tank mature.... and then buy what i need... i will try my best to take care for these 3 small little frags i have in my tank at this moment... no more live stock for now...

 

[NYreefNoob]

skip the book, in my opinion, ive never owned one nor buy one, the web will allow so much more resources and information. dont listen to lfs. or atleast most of them. best thing to do is stick ur hands in your pocket and come to the swap and meet 200 other reef fanatics and listen to some of the lectures

 

[rkaragozler]

+1 for swap,

 

[chinatown]

who need books when there's the internet? use google. way cheaper.

 

[NanoPerson67]

skip the book, in my opinion, ive never owned one nor buy one, the web will allow so much more resources and information. dont listen to lfs. or atleast most of them. best thing to do is stick ur hands in your pocket and come to the swap and meet 200 other reef fanatics and listen to some of the lectures

quick questionn: is the testing solution harmful if it got in the tank? i rinsed my tubes with r/o water but i can still smell the chemicals.. at first i dint know not to put directly into tank... after reading i know to use one of those little needles to suck up water from a conatiner. i made sure i rinsed but my hands smelled like the solution when i was scooping the water. i cant find the answer anywhere online and the box for my kits dont say...

 

[beerfish]

who need books when there's the internet? use google. way cheaper.

You can google "is the moon made of cheese" and someone will say yes.

A good book is the best way to get started in this hobby.

 

[bigdog1428]

I went and bought a book and loved it "salt water aquariums for dummies" I was laughing at myself when buying it ,, but it was the best investment for my tank and helped me in several situations with my tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[Deep Dive Coral]

also why would you buffer your ro water without testing paramaters... just because they told you so. the reason why people buf there systems is because something is depleating. if you cant test what is depleating then you are better off to only top off with clean ro water. also if you still decide to used buffed ro top pff water it needs to be added very slowly. i drip my top off water into a 125g system. call me over cautious but all of my corals are growing and thriving. anyone here can correct me if im wrong in giving this advice...