Low PH & Alkalinity.

[Angel 0249]

Can anyone help me please?

Just done a water test on my main Marine tank.
Everything is ok apart from the PH which is reading 7.8
Alkalinity is reading low too.

Other readings are...
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5.
Phos 0.1
Calcium 460.

The PH has always been 8.4, and have been getting a very low Alk reading for a while now.

Any advise as to what to do and what has caused this to happen.

Many thanks.
Liz.

[Pallen81]

8.4, and have been getting a very low Alk reading for a while now.

Any advise as to what to do and what has caused this to happen.


Might want to use some buffer to add alkalinity and get your pH more stable. Go to any LFS or online store and look for Marine buffers. Just use the recommended dose on the bottle and you should be able to get your alkalinity up in no time to prevent those pH drops.

[Angel 0249]

Thanks for the reply Pallen81.
In my test kit i have a PH buffer will this do the trick.?

Test kit is Red Sea Marine lab.

[Pallen81]

Thanks for the reply Pallen81.
In my test kit i have a PH buffer will this do the trick.?

Test kit is Red Sea Marine lab.

No problem. Did you get one of the All-in-One test kits? is it Marine Buff Success? Is it the trial sized bottle?

If so, yes I think this product will work. All marine buffs I think are relatively the same but I'm not 100% sure (someone else might know better). If it is a trial bottle, you'll want to get a larger bottle or powder form of buffer. There are a bunch of companies that make buffers.

[Angel 0249]

No its not a trial bottle.
It came with the test kit and its called PH buffer and its in liquid form.

[Pallen81]

No its not a trial bottle.
It came with the test kit and its called PH buffer and its in liquid form.

ah, ok. my bad. Yeah, that sounds right.

as long as it says something like this on the bottle... pH Buffer and alkalinity or carbonate hardness (KH) builder

[Angel 0249]

Ok thanks Pallen81.
Your help is very much appreciated.:)

[Pallen81]

Ok thanks Pallen81.
Your help is very much appreciated.:)

Your very welcome Angel0249. Good luck getting your pH to rise. You should be golden.

[Germanman]

for long run i would recommend Kent super dkh buffer works very well. also what salt brand are u using? u say it has been ok in the past but just changed right? if so there may have been something that isnt right that caused the shift...ull want to fix what ever it is most likley.

[Angel 0249]

Thanks Germanman.

I am using salt water bought from my LFS.
Think it is Red Sea salt.

As i am a newbie to the salty side i am not sure as to why my PH and Alk have come down the way they have.

Have you got any idea as to why this has happened?

Many thanks.

[Germanman]

could be the salt. that brand has bad buffering i would try to switch to reef crystals if u can. try this though record the ph and alk, and calcium for a month and test 2 times ore more a week, record it and then see what the pattern is. form there u can see how its doing. also light and oxygen exchange have a larger role in ph and alk.