PH drop

Hood over tank, two fans blowing air in 2 pulling out.
Only running my RO Florescent until I get corals.
Fuge is a converted wet dry. Fuge area is about 10x10 with rubble rock and cheto I added about 3 or 4 days ago.
lighting on fuge hasnt been consistent. But usually have it on about 12-14 hours
water params.
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 20
salanity - 1.24
phosphates 1.0

 

how much space between the top of the water and the top of the hood?
the light on the fuge should be run opposite the lights on the tank, this will help keep the PH from fluctuating as much since the chateo will be producing oxygen to offset any carbon dioxide being produced in the tank.

one method for checking the water for oxygen issues is to take a glass of tank water and test the PH. Set it aside with an airstone in it for an hour then test the PH again, if it has raised the PH then you have a dissolved oxygen issue with your tank setup.

 

I had it up to 8.3 by early evening and now this morning I tested it and its back to 8.0
I'm not sure what to do. Should I leave it alone for for a couple days but test to make sure it doesnt go below 8.0?

 

i take care of this tank that usually runs at about 7.7-8.0 every day... if you watch the video, you will see that the coral and fish do completely fine with this pH.

Its more about maintaining the same number consistently than having the "recommended number"

 

I try to stay away from dkH buffers as most people tend to use it too aggressively and end up making changes in the water chemistry in their tanks too quickly (in my opinion). I generally like to a change in the water chemistry happen very slowly over time. Usually a tank that has a lower dkH than desired took some time to get down there, it usually didn’t happen overnight. Conversely, it’s also not optimum to have it raised to the desired level over night.

You can try stonger aerattion in the aquarium water to degass excess carbon dioxide. For a permenant fix, I dose my tank with TM Bio-Calcium which will very slowly, over time, raise the dkH to the desired level which prevents pH swings in the long term.

 

change your top off water to RODI.. if your using tap its has low ph and most likely has phosphates also

 

First thing I thought of. Also, don't chase your Ph around. Ph test kits are notorious for being off. Use RO, maintain your Ca and especially alk. Sounds like you have enough flow, so that shouldn't be the issue.

 

open the window, let some fresh outside air in the fish room. if ph isnt below 7.8 I wouldnt worry to much about it.

 

+1 on what Night-Rida said.
I chased my pH as well. It would go from 7.8 to 8 and then back down. I used seachem pH 8.3 buffer which brought my alkalinity along with other buffers to 19. Needless to say that represents major problems. All my corals started to die off slowly, some of them not so slowly. It wasn't until I stopped the buffer and other stuff I was dosing. Now it is somewhat stable 8.2 in the evening and 8 in the morning.

Just keep a very watchful eye on your alkalinity that pH swing won't kill your inverts or corals if you added any, but the alkalinity swing will.

 

If I'm doing a 20% water change should I have to add buffer to get my PH up again if my tap water is around 7.1?