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FlooringGuy 
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 Topic: PH
Posted: December 17 2010 at 4:34pm |
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My PH is at 7.04 does it need to be raised?
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smacky
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Posted: December 17 2010 at 6:27pm |
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It does need to be higher. 8.1 to 8.3 is generally considered to be ideal. But rather than "raising" your pH, you should create conditions that keep the pH higher than they are now.
Maintaining your alkalinity and calcium is one thing that will help, the next is doing various things to remove carbon dioxide from your water and adding oxygen. That's done by increasing or redirecting flow so that water is moved from the bottom of the tank and goes to the top, ideally creating some turbulence or "roiling." Adding macroalgae will also help maintain pH, but also helps keep nitrates under control. If you have a sump, you can put some of the macroalgae there and have a light on the sump on at night, this will help balance the day/night pH swing.
Read the post that Mark links to in his signature, There's a bunch more info there that will help.
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FlooringGuy
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Posted: December 17 2010 at 7:21pm |
Thanks.
I have a light on my refugium and have pretty good plant growth in there. I also have the main pump pointing directly at the surface 235gph.
Towards the bottom of the tank I have a koralia 425 gph pointing to the surface.
My calcium is a little high right now, but I think it will come down as I continue to do water changes and my corals start to use more calcium.
Would it help if I added another Koralia 425 to the bottom of the tank.
Right now I am at about 25 X If I add another is that too much?
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Nick801
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Posted: December 17 2010 at 7:42pm |
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how are you testing your ph by the way?
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Davidwillis
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Posted: December 17 2010 at 8:47pm |
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What is your alkalinity?
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vadryn
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Posted: December 17 2010 at 10:04pm |
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What exactly is "High Calcium" ?? What's the measurement?
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 17 2010 at 10:19pm |
I love Vadryn's answer. It said it all. 
I'd double check that pH, though. It's unlikely it's really that
low. The tank would be very stressed. I believe the only way pH could be
that low is if the Alkalinity is also way down below normal. I agree, we need to know the
Alk and Ca levels. If they are within range and the water is moving good to the
surface and the tank is not covered, then you needn't worry about pH. I
haven't worried about or tested pH for many many years since I was a
newbie, when hobby knew very little about the importance of
Alkalinity and was still relying on pH.  If you are using Oceanic salt, don't bother doing water changes just to get the Ca to come down. Oceanic has high Calcium so it will just keep the Calcium high. Instead don't do a water change for a couple months, but add baking soda/RO water solution (Alkalinity) to bring it up to about 10 and the Calcium will be used up and the level will come down. Alkalinity can be between 8-14 dKH and Calcium can be 350-550 ppm. Water changes are not as important as most new hobbyists think, but maintaining Alk and Ca levels stable and within range is very important.
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Jake Pehrson
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Posted: December 18 2010 at 12:13am |
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Your pH is not 7.04. Most likely either you probe is faulty (I am assuming you are getting this reading from your probe) or wasn't calibrated correctly. Was the probe still wet/damp when you recieved it? It sometimes takes a few days for the probe to start reading correctly.
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FlooringGuy
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Posted: December 18 2010 at 12:18am |
Alkalinity is at 11.2
Calcium is just over 500. The test kit (salifert) I use is just about ready to change color when it reaches 500 but the kit only goes to 500 it does not measure above that.
Salinity 1.023 Temp 82.6
I just got a Reef Keeper Elite. I calibrated the ph with the solutions that it came with.
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FlooringGuy
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Posted: December 18 2010 at 12:20am |
The probe container had a small amount of solution in it. It did not look like it was enough solution that it was totally submersed.
Does that mean it was a faulty probe or that it might take a couple days to read it correctly?
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 18 2010 at 8:48am |
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Alk and Ca are within range though a little higher than I'm comfortable with. I'd just leave the tank alone and let Alk and Ca come down as they are used up.
How often have you been doing water changes and how much? 10%/month is a good schedule.
Allow the new unit to run a few more days before recalibrating it.
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Nick801
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Posted: December 18 2010 at 8:53am |
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When you received the probe did you calibrate it? with calibration solution? if not I know the aquarium always has some for sell
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FlooringGuy
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Posted: December 18 2010 at 11:25am |
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It came with calibrating solution. Would the fact that the probe is close to some carbon packets in the compartment down from my refugium have any effect on the ph?
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Jake Pehrson
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Posted: December 18 2010 at 12:09pm |
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As long as the probe was damp it will be okay, it doesn't need to be submerged. Give it a few days and test the probe against a pH test kit if it is still reading so low.
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 18 2010 at 10:47pm |
Close to bags of AC? I wouldn't think so, but that is easy to test by moving it or them away. 
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