im so mad at self

galadriel · 01-05-2011, 09:57 AM

My 46 gal bow front tank was doing great. Then i got looking around the net and the forums and it said that ur pH should be 8.4 and mine was only 7.2 so i raised it up to 8.2 over 3 days with baking soda. Now all my soft corals are laying over and just look sickly. I did one bucket change of water, hoping it would help but they still look bad. I could just kick myself for even messing with it. Does anyone know what i could do to save my stuff even the brittle star is acting weird. IF anyone knows what i could do to save my tank please let me know.

jolson10450 · 01-05-2011, 10:01 AM

hard telling but leave your lights off will help keep it lower, maybe you had a bad test kit and it was really 8.2 when you thought it w 7.2 and now you bumped it up to 9.2 which is crazy high! double check your test kit with someone elses test kit or if you use probes make sure it is calibrated properly. you need to throw something acidic in the water to lower it but what that is i do not know, some fresh water changes may help a bit.

jimsflies · 01-05-2011, 10:39 AM

7.2 is definitely a suspect measurement. Normally reef tanks seem to hover in the 7.7 to 8.1 range without doing anything. A large water change seems like a good idea. Get a reading on your calcium and alkalinity levels and see whether those are out of whack. It never hurts to run some fresh carbon either.

JMALACHI · 01-05-2011, 11:06 AM

When I had my 46 bow I also had ph issues. Eventually I bought one of those up buffers and took my top off of the tank which allowed for more oxygen/co2 exchange. After all that I couldn't get my ph down at all. The entire tank got used to it and were happy. Definitely take your time and do as they suggested. Test and retest before doing big things. I learned the hardway but it worked out.

Love Should NEVA Be Limited

galadriel · 01-05-2011, 04:08 PM

thank u for the replys. I will do a partial water change tonight.

cephalotus · 01-05-2011, 05:31 PM

9.2 is realy not bad if it stays stable.

fawkes · 01-05-2011, 07:41 PM

I agree, it is hard to believe it would have been as low as 7.2. I occasionally get high readings from my 10G nano, but I always wait at least 12 hrs and retest. It usually proves me out and I get a more reasonable reading. I would test KH and probably CA too. If the KH is not within reasonable values, you might show problems with pH.

I tend to try to shoot for 8.2 - because of the fish. If you have any sort of ammonia bloom/spike, it is more lethal for fish at higher pH values. I know many shoot for 8.4, but I tend to look for it to be a little lower.

rmalone · 01-06-2011, 11:09 AM

Personally I don't chase ph. If you keep your alk stable your ph will find an equillibrium with your ambient co2 levels. If you want ph up a little feed your skimmer more outside air or just make more air exchange in the tank room. Chasing ph with additives usually just creates a yo-yo effect. I also don't trust liquid or powder type ph test kits. A freshly calibrated probe is far more accurate.

schminksbro · 01-06-2011, 12:10 PM

Baking soda is not a good product to use to raise Ph. It mixes at 8.2 but it is actually carbonate which is alkaline. You likely raised your alk beyond comfort levels. Your problem likely lies in having your alk way too high as opposed to your Ph.

jimsflies · 01-06-2011, 12:15 PM

True...baking soda only gives you half of the equation. Kalkwasser would provide equal parts of both alk and calcium.

I still think 7.2 is either an bad reading (most likely) or indicative of a ventilation problem. Once I had started our gas fireplace and didn't open the flue. I happened to be watching my tank at the time and the pH reading on the controller plummeted. It was below 7 before I could tell myself that there was a problem in the house.