About to throw in the white towel

[paddyob]

I never mess with PH. Ever. Although Edmonton's water is hard... in 4 years my PH has never dropped below 8.0.


I have always known that playing with PH can be a dangerous thing and can get worse when you do.


Are you having some sort of issue that is directly related to your PH?

At 7.9 why worry?

[Coleus]

well my tank is fine but at ph =7.7 in the morning which ticks me off. Also my duncan has been closed for 3 days now, maybe my angel is picking at it but not sure why.

[paddyob]

Originally Posted by Coleus

well my tank is fine but at ph =7.7 in the morning which ticks me off. Also my duncan has been closed for 3 days now, maybe my angel is picking at it but not sure why.

PH will always drop at night. Thats a normal cycle. Open windows and lighting.... thats the way I always approach it.

[Coleus]

well low ph and high alk is not a problem for coral but i think maybe a problem for my fish. I don't have any fish die lately but i am not sure if they are happy or not with low ph level. They swim and eat but how can you tell if they are happy or not

[Ron99]

Have you tried growing some cheato in your sump etc with a reverse lighting schedule?

[Coleus]

Originally Posted by Ron99

Have you tried growing some cheato in your sump etc with a reverse lighting schedule?

yes i have cheato and mangroves with reverse light cycle in my refugium, although the cheato has been shrinking due to bio-pellets

[marie]

I used to have problems with low ph because of my calcium reactor.....After I threw away my ph test kit and removed the ph probe from my sump I haven't had a single problem.

The fish are growing, eating and swimming and I've had them for over 4 yrs..............

[christyf5]

Originally Posted by marie

I used to have problems with low ph because of my calcium reactor.....After I threw away my ph test kit and removed the ph probe from my sump I haven't had a single problem.

+1 If your tank doesn't look noticeably different and there are no problems I wouldn't worry about it. My tank ran with a low pH (7.7-7.9) for years with no issues. My big tank now runs a bit higher but still isn't within the recommended pH range, its usually around 7.9-8.1 or so.

[daniella3d]

If you have this problem since you started using the biopellets, then why not take a break from it and see if the PH come back to normal level?

Originally Posted by Coleus

yes i have cheato and mangroves with reverse light cycle in my refugium, although the cheato has been shrinking due to bio-pellets

[Myka]

Personally, it's on a rare occasion that I will mess with pH directly in a reef tank by adding pH altering chemicals. Steady pH is more important than proper pH, although 7.7 is getting a bit concerning. There are many things that will lower pH, but the most common are:

~ CO2 build up
~ Organic breakdown

Both issues can usually be solved by a good quality skimmer (off gasses CO2 from the tank increases oxygen), fresh air in the house (lowers CO2 in the house increases oxygen), proper water flow, and good maintenance routines.

Originally Posted by Coleus

I know as long my alk is high i should not worry about my ph is being low.

Not true. Alkalinity buffers the pH, it doesn't directly alter it. That means higher alkalinity will make pH more resistant to change either up or down. There are some alkalinity buffers that will directly alter the pH (like SeaChem Marine Buffer 8.3).

Originally Posted by daniella3d

If you have this problem since you started using the biopellets, then why not take a break from it and see if the PH come back to normal level?

Agreed.

If you don't have an algae problem, why are you using Bio Pellets anyway? It is for the 5 ppm nitrate? That seems hardly enough to interfere with Bio Pellets imo. I'm not sold on these Bio Pellets yet though - I've seen more trouble than good with them so far. Maybe Bio Pellets also lower pH? Maybe it is a coincidence?