high ph

[flossyfloofloo]

i noticed yesterday that my ph in my brackish marine tank is high . what i need to know is how high is too high and how to bring it down .

current perams are

amonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 40ppm (working on this with algea scrubber and cheato)
phos 4.0 ( same as above )
ph 8.5
1.020 sg
28 degrees c
50 gal with 15 gal sump
200 gph turnover
50 gph thru scrubber
i dont have a test kit for calc and mag yet but i am getting one didnt think i needed them for brackish .

in my tank i have 1 scat , 1 archer, a moray eel, 2 hermits 5 turbos

is the hight phos and nitrate causeing my high ph i am working on these nate down from 180ppm after a testkit problem was giving me bad readings. scrubber is 3 weeks old .

my scat is shaking a little but not flicking .

how can i get it down or do i just need to get the phos under control.

i know my biggest prob is wc with treated tap i am saving for a ro/di unit but money is tight and not driving means ro from the shop becomes a problem.

thanks for the help guys i know i have problems .

[Cerianthus]

Depending on photosynthetic plants/algae in the system, pH will increases as CO 2 depletes due to photosynthesis thus pH will rise at sunset but lowered at sunrise.

You may not notice much difference but that all depends on amount of or should i say balance b/n livestocks/plant & time and duration of lighting.

Did you happened to notice pH increase when algae scrubber was incorporated into system or its not installed yet?

If installed, do you turn on lighting for algae scrubber when tank light goes off?

[flossyfloofloo]

the only plants in the system are two fist fulls of cheato . the scrubber has lights on it 24hours a day and so does the cheato .my main tank is lit for 12 hours a day .

in the panic of my nitrate problems i havent tested my ph for a couple of weeks as i know from fw tanks that the nitrate can effect ph.

after testing thus morning the ph is only 8.2 and last night it was 8.5

will turning off the scrubber at night help to lower this . i have a planted tank but dont use co2 , i use a liquid addative woukld this help the algea scrubber and cheato???

[Amphiprion]

What is your current photoperiod and schedule with the scrubber? How much circulation do you have in the tank and is it breaking the surface? What is your alkalinity? Raising the latter a bit can help with pH shifts, so it may not allow it to get as high throughout the day.

[flossyfloofloo]

gh 14 kh 14

main tank lights on 12 hours per day

i have my sump retrurn split into two and comes out of two spray bars one at the surface one at the bottom of the tank behind the rocks

atm i havent done anything with the scrubber as the algea is only just starting to form lights are on that 24 hours per day

[Amphiprion]

Why do you have your KH so high? Exceptionally high alkalinity can also promote a pH that is too high. Drop it down closer to 7 or 8 dKH. That is a bit closer (and slightly higher) than the KH you'd encounter in slightly more saline brackish habitats.

[flossyfloofloo]

what would be the best way to lower it?? i have some coral sand in the sump should i remove it?

also just like to point out the salinity of 1.020 so its pretty much marine lol

i have some bog wood in the tank to make it look more brackish could that cuase problems

[Amphiprion]

None of the above should be causing the same issues. Are you adding any buffers or baking soda regularly? If so, that would be the likely culprit. What test kit and salt mix are you using?

[flossyfloofloo]

api test kit

adding no buffers or anything and my salt mix is instant ocean

[Amphiprion]

Well, brackish is a relative term, but the average salinity of seawater is 35 ppt (1.0264 specific gravity @ 77 Fahrenheit).

What kind of decor do you have in the tank? How often do you perform water changes? Also, look into more surface agitation or agitation from your scrubber. It may be stripping the tank of CO2 too quickly.

[flossyfloofloo]

will fit a powerhead to give more agitation , the only decor is slate and bogwood , with normal aquarium sand as substrate whick is about an inch and a half thick , i am going to remove some make it more around an inch as ive been told its a tweener and could cause problems.

just rechecked my kh and it starts to change at 12 but defo differant colour at 14, how could i bring this down ???

[flossyfloofloo]

oh wcs are 9 gals a week , i am gonna try and get a lift to the lfs get some ro this weekend do more of a change prob 12 gals twice in the week

[Amphiprion]

No good (or 100% safe) way to lower it, short of using a salt with a lower KH and changing the water. Instant Ocean is traditionally high in this regard.

[flossyfloofloo]

i will look at a better salt as i am planning on a reef tank too so will need something better.

will look into doing a change with some ro to try and bring it down this weekend too

[Cerianthus]

pH fluctuation b/n 8.2 - 8.5, I would not personally worry, even for brackish unless experiencing complications.

theroreticall,by adding calcium ion will lower carbonate ion level as cal + co3 = CaCO3 wipp precipitate out. If you wish ,use calcium chloride (turbo bal by Kent), not the kalkwasser. But I dont see the need in your case.