So I have a wet/dry system from lifereef and a skimmer from him as well on a 265G tank, that being said, I'm having an issue maintaining an acceptable pH level....I can not for the life of me keep it about 8.15 from 6-1am and 8.11 the rest of the time (lights come on at 4pm), tank temp is ketp at 79 with a chiller. Here are rest of water values:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 20
Salinity: 1.022
Calcium: 417
ORP: ~340 (no ozone used)
Alkalinity: 3meq/l (8.4 dKH) [have tried up to 4meq/l or 14dKH]
pH: 8.11 - 8.15 ( I would really like to achieve 8.25 to 8.3) (as you can see, the swing is not that big, and would not be noticeable on a chemical test kit, but I can not get passed 8.16, 8.17 no matter what I do).
Things done to test to see if anything might be causing it:
1. removed all sand, and all live rock,tank is empty with just fish - only 10 small fish - same thing, no change
2. cleaned out all filters and skimmer - nothing since everything was already cleaned
3. remove glass canopy's in case too much CO2 was getting trapped in the tank - no change, which means I don't have a CO2 problem
4. added two 4" airstones to the sump - went up by .02 (I have a two different types of digital readers)
5. tried new CaribSea Aragamaz Select Dry Sand which - no change
Products Tried to bring pH up:
1. Natureef Seal Alk
2. Kent Marine pH buffer
3. Seachem Marine Buffer (blue label)
4. Seachem Marine Buffer (purple label)
Even more simple test to determin cause:
1. took tank water and let it sit outside of tank for up to 8 hours - no change
2. took tank water and let it sit for up to 8 hours with an air stone - and pH went to 8.24 to 8.25 and stayed there!!!!
So...what does does this all mean...to me, it would sound to me, and I'm no chemist or expert on this, but that the tank is somehow low or being starved of oxygen...could this be the case...and if so, what is the solution...I don't want to have to put airstone inside the tank!
Help please, this is driving me nuts!
p.s. - would this have an affect on high nitrates...I would think so but I need some expert opinions.
Ammonia: 0
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 20
Salinity: 1.022
Calcium: 417
ORP: ~340 (no ozone used)
Alkalinity: 3meq/l (8.4 dKH) [have tried up to 4meq/l or 14dKH]
pH: 8.11 - 8.15 ( I would really like to achieve 8.25 to 8.3) (as you can see, the swing is not that big, and would not be noticeable on a chemical test kit, but I can not get passed 8.16, 8.17 no matter what I do).
Things done to test to see if anything might be causing it:
1. removed all sand, and all live rock,tank is empty with just fish - only 10 small fish - same thing, no change
2. cleaned out all filters and skimmer - nothing since everything was already cleaned
3. remove glass canopy's in case too much CO2 was getting trapped in the tank - no change, which means I don't have a CO2 problem
4. added two 4" airstones to the sump - went up by .02 (I have a two different types of digital readers)
5. tried new CaribSea Aragamaz Select Dry Sand which - no change
Products Tried to bring pH up:
1. Natureef Seal Alk
2. Kent Marine pH buffer
3. Seachem Marine Buffer (blue label)
4. Seachem Marine Buffer (purple label)
Even more simple test to determin cause:
1. took tank water and let it sit outside of tank for up to 8 hours - no change
2. took tank water and let it sit for up to 8 hours with an air stone - and pH went to 8.24 to 8.25 and stayed there!!!!
So...what does does this all mean...to me, it would sound to me, and I'm no chemist or expert on this, but that the tank is somehow low or being starved of oxygen...could this be the case...and if so, what is the solution...I don't want to have to put airstone inside the tank!
Help please, this is driving me nuts!
p.s. - would this have an affect on high nitrates...I would think so but I need some expert opinions.
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