PH keeps dropping

It's a 55gal and I just listed the livestock above. All the other info is in my sig in the first post. The kit just gives the three ranges low-safe-high. High is from 2.9-3.6 and by color it seems at the higher end. It is a Red Sea kit and the buffer doesn't say what kind of buffer it is, just "Buff." The Tang is now upright but its breathing a lot faster than when it was on its side.

 

Nitrates are high, about 50, but that could be from adding new fish recently, right?

 

This tank have glass tops on it ? And what are you using to test the Alk or DKH or Carbonates all three are the same measurement just different ways to say it and the P.H is tested how > and what time of day or night do you test this ? and do you test it the same time of day everyday ? As for high these numbers are actually low for a reef tank 4.5 to 5.0 is where you want to be

P.Sgo get a good DKH test kit I like red sea but their alk kist is crap.

 

Yes, it has glass tops on it. The Alk test is just a test tube you add a few drops to and compare it to a color chart. It's not broken down as much as the PH is, just 3 basic ranges. The time of day varies but it is usually late morning/early afternoon.

 

Looky Jetman... you need to know what your alk is in "numericly".
It's high you say ? how high ?

Alk should be round 4.0 , Ph round 8.2 .

You need to know what your Cal. and Mag is also.

A note : A big sway in your PH or other parameter can kill things quite quickly, while small changes over time will not.
Its important to keep your water within certain parmeters and not bottom or sky rocket on a parameter.

You need quailty test kits , sailfert being one of quaility,
( chime in guys if yall have some others )

As far as your problem go's and PH is like bottoming out like over night or within like a day or two?.
I would think it's your tanks buffering capacity, as tanks get some age on them they will develope buffering capacity.
You have to know what alk/Ph is doing and you should test for it often right now to know when to add a buffer.

If any one can explain it better chime in any time.

 

The "high" range on the card goes from 2.9-3.6 with 3.6 being blue and my vial was REALLY blue so I would assume that is where I'm at, 3.6. How old is old? Mine is almost 1.5 years old.

 

Ding Ding Ding there you go ! Get the tops off asap salt-creep and evaporation is just part of the game , And time of day is very important . You have to allow the CO'2s to get off of the surface or the water and a fan running on it will help or the CO2 will just lay there as its denser then air.
And PH at just before light's come on will be very low as the CO'2 have built up over night less photosynthesis going one then so the CO2 go up and that causes acid to build up the tops trap it and just make it worse , Oxygen lowed the CO2 effect and that will raise the P.h , Take a Ph sample just before lights go off it will be low 8.'s at lights on 7.8 id fine but with the tops yours is more like 7.6 or less and that Ph triggers the ion exchange to release carbonates to buffer up the system. Add a fan loose the tops and let it go then adjust the buffering capacity of the water via a buffering agent of some type .

 

Get a Salifert alk DKh test kit and a Ph meter a Ph regeant test is totaly worthless and a Ph meter is like a gas guage . its right there and accurate 79.00 or so and you will know in a look what s needed I have used the red sea like you have now and you need to bump it up to 4.5 to 5.0 but not at the expense of the Calcium level falling off . you want to get that to 400ppm

 

Got any links to the "good" kits? Also, how do I keep some of my fish from jumping without a lid on the tank?

 

I have lost maybe 4 fish in my life to jumping and I tend to stay away from known jumpers . If you fear that then get some screening for the tank the lids are what almost killed that tang on the bottom , You will have to do somthing.