Constant high pH levels

Discussion in 'Water Chemistry' started by eddie2OOO, Aug 10, 2014.

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  1. eddie2OOO

    eddie2OOO Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    the pH of my aquarium water is extremely high, on average it is around 8.7. It fluctuates between 8.6 in the morning before lights go on, and 8.8 before they the turned off. i am using Milwaukee 122 recently calibrated and have verified these reading using an API test kit. I know i should not to chase numbers, but this is extremely high. I started adding 60 ml of seltzer a day (10ml a time) to add co2. And was bring it down by no more then 0.1 a day (didn't want to shock the tank by bring it down faster). When I stopped, pH went right back up. I checked KH, it is at 2.7, do it shouldn't be causing high pH. I did a lot of research, and realized that pH of my tap water is 11. After it goes through RODI unit it becomes unmeasurable, but still shows 11. After I mix in the salt, it shows pH of 9, and let is sit for 12-24 hours, it still shows 9. Obviously when doing a wc the overall pH of my tank raises. I thought perhaps my RODI was leaving chemicals in the tap, so I ran KH tests and TDS both showed 0. I read that different municipalities have different pH readings and add chemicals to set it at a particular reading. I can't figure out what is added and how to neutralize it. And whether I need to treat my freshly made saltwater prior to adding it to the tank (perhaps with either adding vinegar or co2) to bring pH down to say, 8.6 and then by 0.1 lower each time a do a WC. Any thoughts?
     
    Last edited: Aug 10, 2014
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  3. Pickupman66

    Pickupman66 Tassled File Fish

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    It's as if you need to inject co2 into your water changes. Get that pH to where u want it. Something is defiantly wrong with your city water
     
  4. Kevin_E

    Kevin_E Giant Squid

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    Mix your water with a power head overnight and see if it changes. If not, I'd say your pH meter is off.
     
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  5. eddie2OOO

    eddie2OOO Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    I always use a power head overnight (until about a month ago when I switched from reef crystals to Red Sea pro, and my water was blurry with some white sediment on top, I went to their website, and they say not to have it mixed overnight, but instead have a power head run for 2 hours and then let it rest for 12 hours. So I started doing that, but its still blurry, so I'm switching back to RC).
     
  6. eddie2OOO

    eddie2OOO Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    You think I should dose my freshly made saltwater... I almost don't want to do that but it seems like a logical solution. I wonder if I should get a co2 meter.
     
  7. Pickupman66

    Pickupman66 Tassled File Fish

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    Bring the ro/di down then add salt. A bottle of co2 may become your friend. I'd get a co2 meter to check it
     
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  9. Vinnyboombatz

    Vinnyboombatz Giant Squid

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    RC is designed to mix with RODI water.The PH of RODI water should be around 7.0 no matter what the tap water PH is. If you truly have 0 tds then fooling with the PH should not be necessary.
     
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  10. floydie83

    floydie83 Flamingo Tongue

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    +1...something is fishy. I wish I could get my pH at above 8 :(. Stopped chasing that long ago.