ph low

hi can you tell me what i need i did all my test today and my ph is at 7.0 do i put in some kh/ph buffer i also think once i have put this in i do not test for 48hours many thanks

 

What type of stock do you have in your tank at the moment?

 

What is your alk, mg, and calcium at? These play a big role in keeping pH stable. Let me know the results and I'll see if I can't get you on the road to recovery. ;D

 

I would suggest verifying the result with another meter or test kit before doing anything. It is easy to err with test kits, and meters go out of calibration.
If still too low, I would aerate a sample of the water outdoors with an air pump for an hour or two and then test the sample to see if there is a rise in pH.
If there is a rise, you will need to improve your air/water exchange at the surface of the tank, perhaps by directing a power head to put the surface water in turmoil.
If there is no improvement in the pH from aerating the sample, then as already mentioned, it's important to understand the relationship of the various parameters of alk, calcium, magnesium and pH BEFORE you start dosing anything.

 

All that have commented have great points. We need to know your results for the following; Alk/Dkh, Mag, Cal, Nh3 and No3. I would also double check the reading, meaning, do another test. Luna

 

thanks again to you aLL have done test all ok

 

My tank also had a low pH...it turned out to be insufficient oxygenation (i.e not enough water flow at the surface of the tank).

I had read about a simple test to determine if this was the problem. Take a cup of your tank water and run an airstone through it for an hour. Then test the pH of the water in the cup. If the water in the cup has a normal pH, then it your low pH was (at least in part) cause by poor flow.

I rearranged by powerheads and my pH jumped up .5 and is now normal.

 

I hate to ask this question because it sounds rude but what is "ok"??? What is ok to you might not be ok to the rest of us. We need numbers so we can get this deal worked out.

 

In most of Canada, a great deal of homes don't have sufficient air circulation in the homes that have been built more recently as standards have forced better sealing of the homes to make them more efficient. Many area's now require HRV's to bring in outdoor air to remedy this. The HRV recovers heat from outgoing stale air to the incoming cooler air to save energy. (or the reverse when the A/C is on)
Problem is at it's worst when the home is shut up in winter or in summer when the house is also shut up for A/C use.
Homes like this have to have even more motion at the surface to get proper air exchange, and at worst, need to bring in fresh outdoor air to the surface.