PH Problems 24gl Nano Cube

[mikelush78]

I have been unable to keep my PH at 8.3.... I buffer all day and then I go to bed. When I get home from work I go to buffer and my PH is back to 8.0 I buffer slowly during the afternoon and night and get it better and the same thing happens...

This is killing my Snails.. Hermits... Shrimp... I believe... They only last up to 4 months and die off from the stress I think... Any clue as to why this PH problem is? I also have a hair algae problem I have been fighting with for 4 months....

Here is how I feed the tank:
1 tsp phyto plankton 2 times a week
1 tsp coral excel 2 times a week

I feed the fish only frozen brine shrimp once a day about a penny size worth of the flat thin flat frozen brine shrimp. They eat all the food in 15 seconds and I turn the filter off so not to suck the shrimp into the filter. The fish I have are:
True Clown
Grandma
Cardinal
Lawnmower Blene (Just added him for the algae)

I do not use an RO-DI unit because the reef shop around the corner gets the report for the water and our water is great.... I tested the water comming out of the tap for Phosphates and nitrates and there are none that I can read...

I do a water change ever 2 weeks.

I am trying to get a pic of the tank so you can see but I have to get a program to mess with the pic since its to big from my camera.

 

[dorkfish]

8 is a good reading for PH, not perfect, but good enough that you shoiuldn't worry. The inverts are dieing becuase they can't take te changes in PH you cause via using the buffer. Actualy I've been able to GROW soft corals and my cleaner shrimp as well as keep snails and hermit crabs (can't really tell if there growing) for several months in my tank, with a slightly lower PH than you have, last time I checked (atleast a month ago).

 

[mikelush78]

So ph for the fish at 8.0 and for the corals and the inverts is ok at 8.0? Wow that would be a huge help... thanks alot ill try not buffereing...
thanks
mike

 

[neilmack]

excuse me for being a bit thick but what is BUFFERING?!

 

[gst4life]

I suppose he means buffering the water with chemicals but Im not sure.

 

[mogurnda]

excuse me for being a bit thick but what is BUFFERING?!

Formally, it's the ability of water to resist changes in pH. It's also called alkali reserve, or simply alkalinity, in marine tanks. Essentially, there is a reserve of weak alkali, usually carbonates, that can maintain the pH when acid (in the form of orgainics from decay, or CO2) is added. When this is depleted, your pH will drop.

There are a few ways that pH can be low. One is too much CO2, from metabolism or poor air quality in the room (or a Ca reactor, if you have one). Take a sample of your tank water and aerate it vigorously in a well ventilated area. If the pH goes up, your problem is CO2. Then you have to track down the source, but we can wait for that one.

The other issue is depleted alkalinity. Too much food, decaying animals, excessive coral growth or infrequent water changes can lead to this. This can be measured very easily with an alkalinity test kit. I would never add buffers without first checking the alkalinity. In fact, as far as I am concerned, it's one of the best measures of tank health.

So, what's your alkalinity?

 

[Carstanos]

When are you checking your PH? The time you check your PH will have some to do with the reading you get. ex: If you test in the morning when or before the lights go on your PH maybe 8.3 then by mid afternood after the lights have been on a few hours it may drop, and by the time lights out comes it maybe all the way down to 8.0. I have witnessed this trend in my own tank.

 

[gomrjoe]

Actualy I've been able to GROW soft corals and my cleaner shrimp as well as keep snails and hermit crabs (can't really tell if there growing) for several months in my tank, with a slightly lower PH than you have, last time I checked (atleast a month ago).

DF is right, 8.0, as long as it is consistent is not horrible, should be higher, but softies will be just fine. My PH rides consistently at 8.1 to 8.2. I never can get it to 8.3, and it rarely if ever drops below 8.1 and I have had my star polyps and xenia in this tank for close 9 months, and my star polyp is starting to take over my tank (different thread for a different day).

Question for Mogurnda or anyone: What test kit would you recommend for alkalinity? For now I have been testing this at my lfs, and her numbers seem low to me, because I have been testing my own PH for years and never had a problem. So I have been thinking about getting an alkalinity test for myself, I test everything else myself anyways, whats one more test!

Thanks.

 

[mikelush78]

The only water parameter that I am low in is Calcium. My LFS said that all else is fine but I have low calcium. If I raise my calcium I was told that it could raise my ph... Is this True? And what Calcium buffer or additive should I use? Also what test kit should I buy for testing calcium?
Thanks
Mike

 

[mogurnda]

What test kit would you recommend for alkalinity?

It's a pretty simple test, and most kits are fine, as long as you get a numerical answer. There are some, like Red Sea, that tell you "high," "low," or in between, which isn't very useful. Fastest by Aquarium Systems is cheap and good, and the salifert kit is excellent.

If I raise my calcium I was told that it could raise my ph... Is this True? And what Calcium buffer or additive should I use? Also what test kit should I buy for testing calcium?

That makes no sense to me. Ca levels have little effect on the pH of the tank.

As others have said, a pH of 8.0 is not a big deal. I run a Ca reactor, which causes my pH to run at 8.0 to 8.1, and the SPS corals have always grown like weeds.

If you are going to mess with your Ca levels, you also have to mess with your alkalinity/buffering. That means you need test kits for both, and additives that adjust both. Salifert and SeaChem make good Ca kits, much easier to read that most others. For adjusting Ca and alkalinity, the simplest product would be a two-part additive like ESV B-Ionic. Aim for a dosing routine that keeps the Ca at about 400 ppm and alkalinity at around 3 mEq/L.