Does Ph have an effect on Alk readings?

[Gools]

I took a reading of my Alk this morning, and my reading where a point below normal. Normally 9.6 now it's 8.6. Does Ph have an effect on Alk readings?

[Jaws]

There are definitely PH buffers that raise your alkalinity when applied.

[Gools]

So would it effect readings from morning to late day after the Ph has a chance to go up?

[Jaws]

That's what i'm trying to figure out right now in another post because my Ph is way down this morning from what it was last night after I added Ph buffer.

[Invigor]

uh oh, sounds like a CO2 problem!

try getting a power head to stir the surface of the water around more :D worked for me...that is if it's an oxygen depletion. less oxygen in the water the lower the pH is, to my understanding. some chemisty buff might be able to add to that for you

[Jaws]

There's lots of flow in the tank. I've got three large powerheads in there.

[Beverly]

If the air in the tank room is high in CO2, the tank will reflect that by having a lower pH overall. However, if you have windows open during the day and closed at night, pH will be normal during the day and much lower at night. High swings in pH with normal CO2 in the tank room reflects a low alk.

The 9.6 and 8.6, are these alk or pH readings?

[Jaws]

My PH is at 7.7 and my KH is at 10.2. so a little high. What should I do to higher the PH and lower the alkalinity?

[Beverly]

My PH is at 7.7 and my KH is at 10.2. so a little high. What should I do to higher the PH and lower the alkalinity?

KH of 10.2 is okay. Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but KH between 8 and 11 is great :biggrin: pH of 7.7 is low. As I said in my post on your other thread, get more O2 into the tank room. More O2 and less CO2 will bring up pH.

You might also look at the biological processes that are going on in your tank. Over feeding will cause more of the alkalinity to be utilized. So will having dirty filters and not doing frequent, regular water changes. What kind of filtration (if any) do you use in this tank? What is your tank maintenance schedule? What specific things do you do during tank maintenance and how often do you do maintenance?

[Invigor]

slightly straying from topic...

but does ozone injection via a skimmer help with a low oxygen or not because it's O3 and not O2 would it not do anything?

[Beverly]

Invigor,

I haven't a clue. Hopefully someone experienced with ozone injection can help you.

[danny zubot]

Jaws wrote:
My PH is at 7.7 and my KH is at 10.2. so a little high. What should I do to higher the PH and lower the alkalinity?

How does your Ca+ look? Your ALk seems a bit higher than it needs to be. Sometimes you can adjust it by adjusting your Calcium levels. This will also effect your PH.

[Jaws]

Calcium's at an even 420. PH is better lately. Everything seems to be good.