A PH rant

Great point, but in my case, my house is closed up 24/7. So the Co2 level is high, which reduces my ph. The min. I open one window at 1" 1/2, my ph jumps from 7.8 to 8.16 in a matter of mins. If I open two windows, which are across from each other and my tank is in the middle of the two windows, my ph reaches 8.3. The other day I had company over, which was a total of 13 ppl. My ph went from 8.13 to 7.6 in a matter of mins. Now I keep open the window a little and my ph max'a out at 8.16.
Luna

 

That is amazing. I would not have considered "company" to be a threat to my reef tank! That's it, no one is ever coming over again!

 

Thank you for the reply!
When you test your calcium levels, essentially you are testing the free calcium in the water.

 

You've noticed this too, eh?! I don't have anymore friends because I don't let them come over anymore. I tell them they will hurt my PH... LOL...;D I know exactly what you are saying!

 

I agree, but chronically low PH can cause degenerative health problems over time. Here is a quote to consider: "Prolonged exposure to sub-lethal pH levels can cause stress, increase mucus production and encourage epithelial hyperplasia (thickening of the skin or gill epithelia) with sometimes-fatal consequences." Freshwater-Aquarium-Fish.com - What Is pH And How Does It Affect Your Fish?

I certainly am not challenging Tangster.. He is truly a genuis, but I want my fish to be as happy a they can.

Thanks for you input!

 

I have a tough time understanding pH sometimes. I left my door open plenty of times for 4,5 hours when its sunny and very cool outside. No significant rise in pH. It increases as it normally does if i had my door closed.

After i do a water change however, it's just incredibly stable.

For example, i did a 18 gallon water change on my 120 gallon tank. Days before, the pH would be go up to 8.3 in the morning and drop to 8.0 at night, sometimes lower.

I did the water change at night when the pH was at 8.20. After i did the water change the pH went up to 8.21 and the next morning i expected it to be a bit lower(around 8.1) but it was at 8.20 still. That to me doesnt make any sense. What the hell is making the pH so stable after a water change?

 

SOOO many possibilities could be causing this. Do you aerate your mix water? If so, how long? What kind of turnover rate do you have in your display tank? is there any surface agitation? Where is your sump located? Do you have corals, or a refugium? The door being open for 4-5 hours may not be sufficient for equilibrium to be reached, or there could be a device that is inside of your home that is creating CO2 (ventless fireplace, gas heater, etc). All of these could be part of your problem. There are more variables, but these are some big ones. If your mix water is sufficiently aerated, and your indoor CO2 levels are good, then your mix water may have a nice, high, and stable PH. This could be an indicator that you need more aeration in your aquarium.

A simple test you can perform would be to first, test your aquarium PH, and then take a cup of your aquarium water outside, and aerate it (with an airstone) for a few hours, and then take the water inside and immediately test the PH. If there is an increase then your problem is likely to be due to indoor CO2 levels, assuming that you have adequate aquarium aeration. Also, please note that temperature DOES affect PH, please make sure that your aerated water sample has a similar water temperature as your aquarium.

 

this maybe silly, but those of you with air quality issues.... anyone try putting some indoor plants near the tank?