Sad Panda February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Ok the tank I have had up for a week now shows: Nitrite .1< ammonia .25< Nitrate 5. alkalinity 10.5KH PH 7.9 Temp 79.1 Salinity 35ppt What is bothering me is the alk seems very high. I do not have a skimmer running and have no air stones. Could the lack of oxy be driving it up or is this not level not an issue? The only thing in the tank is rock, some pieces moved from the old tank, Chaeto in the sump along with some rock with coralline algae on it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arking_mark February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Alk is good. I would like to see your Cal and Mag. Also, I would try to push your Ph higher as it will fluctuate down at night. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 I agree. Alk looks fine to me. It's probably higher than some because you don't have much in there using it up from your salt mix. Lack of oxygen doesn't drive it up, but presence of CO2 does help to drive pH down. Once you get a skimmer on it to improve air exchange your pH will probably come up. Or open a window when it's nice out. 8) It really does make a difference in measured tank pH. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arking_mark February 28, 2016 Share February 28, 2016 Just as a reference, my tank parameters: Salinity: 1.025 Temp: 79 Ph: 8.3 -8.4 Alk: 11 Cal: 480 Mag: 1380 Ammonia, nitrite, narrate, phosphate all read zero on API. 15% weekly water changes. Top off water dosed with carbon in the form of vinegar 12ml per gallon of top off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Panda February 29, 2016 Author Share February 29, 2016 (edited) I tried to push the PH up some by using a ph 8.2 buffer and it went up for a couple hours to 8.1 then today it was 7.9 again. I have not measured the Cal, Mag yet because I was not prepared to put anything in the tank. I have a BRS 3 part doser for cal alk mag but have not hooked it up because I thought if I just started dosing with nothing in to consume things it would go off the chart. I know this is silly and old hat to most of you but I am still trying to learn and understand all these things, so forgive my ignorance. Edited February 29, 2016 by Sad Panda Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlanM February 29, 2016 Share February 29, 2016 Don't dose to hit a pH number. Dose for Alk and Ca and Mg. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zygote2k February 29, 2016 Share February 29, 2016 what's pH? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Panda February 29, 2016 Author Share February 29, 2016 If I don't dose for PH how do I keep it at the optimal 8.2 ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arking_mark February 29, 2016 Share February 29, 2016 Many ways to keep ph stable and more optimal: - Kalkwasser for top off water - Alk dosing, as this usually has a raise ph side effect. In fact, the major risk of overdosing alk is very large rise in ph...which can be handled with vinegar. So maintaining Alk should help maintain ph. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gmerek2 February 29, 2016 Share February 29, 2016 (edited) I'm not sure what pH is either. I think I have tested it a total of 2 times. I was told it doesn't matter as long as you aren't spiking it rapidly with dumping in alk (please drip dose alk if you have SPS) I test Cal and magnesium once a week. I Test alk 2-3 times a week to make sure it stays rock steady. The one neat thing on an apex would be the pH graph though. Would have saved me when I left the alk drip doser on by accident. Because it would spike pH and alert me phone correct? Oh and I wouldn't worry about a 10.5 alk as long as calcium is 400s or above. I keep hearing this Burnt tips thing and I havent seen it and run my tanks Around 10 And had a period where I was hittin 12s for a couple months. Also I wouldn't use pH buffer the fluctuations with dumping it in will affect SPS. LPS inverts and fish may not care but it's still not good for them. Edited February 29, 2016 by gmerek2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve175 March 17, 2016 Share March 17, 2016 I'd suggest having a beer and not testing anymore until tank fully cycled. And then never specifically attempting to manipulate pH directly with buffers. There is very good article sticky at the top the new-to-hobby forum worth reading on normal range for parameters and how to respond if outside range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YHSublime March 17, 2016 Share March 17, 2016 I also suggest a beer, and not worrying about dosing until you have a need. If you can show me your levels for 3 months, and can tell me what your tanks consumption is of alk and calc, then by all means, start dosing! It took me about 8 months on a heavily stocked (mostly with frags) SPS 150 until my salt mix couldn't keep up with my tanks demands. It's never too early to start learning though, just don't be convinced you need to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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