why my name is what it is!

[KonfusedBiocube]

Hello guys/Gals of TR,

I am writing about a problem with my Nano
It's not super urgent or anything but it erks me to no end....I have a Biocube 14G that I have had running since about a year and a half ago. It has a false clown as well as a lawnmower blenny that live in it. It also houses about 5 hermits and a snail and an Emerald Crab. No coral however. I want coral very badly but I cannot seem to get the PH in the tank correct. I told myself that I would not get coral until I could get the water parameters where i wanted them. I have tried every test under the sun from Salifert to Tropic Marin to Seachem and now use a Milwaukee Instr. 600 Ph probe. All the good tests and the probe agree that my water hangs out at between 7.7-7.9 ph. So I made a fresh batch of water with salinity at 1.025 and using Instant Ocean sea salt and Bam.....7.9. So then I used the probe and checked the tap water and Bam....7.9. Then I used my probe and tested my Filter Guys 4 stage RO/DI water and ......7.9. Then I used the recal solution on the probe to see if the probe was messed up, nope, read fine. So I checked KH and it was about 9 german units, I then added SeaChem 8.3 buffer, the PH rose to 8.1-8.2 in the tank. But I have done this in the past and guess what the PH starts coming down again and settling to 7.7-7.9. If I continue to add the buffer I think my KH will get too high (above 14 units).

Any solutions out there, you veterans you?
Thank you for reading,
Rappy

[CarmieJo]

Hi Rappy to TR!

First let me say that I commend you for being so responsible and resisting the temptation to add corals!

This is a good article if you haven't read it. Low pH: Causes and Cures by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com

Buffers rarely cure pH woes because they don't solve the root problem. When are you testing the pH? It will be lowest just before the lights come on and highest just before they go off. It is not unusual for a tank that doesn't have a refugium lit on a reverse photoperiod (lights on when the tank lights are out) to swing 0.2 - 0.4 in pH from dark to light.

Low pH is a common problem that is often caused by lack of O2 exchange at the water's surface and/or high indoor CO2. Are you running with just the return pump or have you added another power head? Either way do you have one of them aimed so it ruffles the water's surface? If you already are doing that have you tried leaving the lid open for an hour or two and then testing?

Houses these days are built so tight that high indoor CO2 is very common. If you have an air pump try aerating a cup of water for an hour and then test it. If not set a cup of water outside for an hour and then test it. I keep the window in the room where my tanks are barely cracked open and this enables me to keep the pH at 8.2 with the lights on.

[rayme07]

Hi Rappy Welcome to TR.

[V]

great write up carmie

[KonfusedBiocube]

So after reading Carmie's link, I came to find out that while my ph is somewhat low.... It is still ok. It has been at 7.9-8.0 now based off the PH 600 probe from MI. Of course I am not daft enough to think that it does not need cal. so I cal it every week er so. I have been checking my nitrates and they do show up a bit. My last Tropic Marin nitrate test showed about 0.2-0.5 ppm. I think that I have a hefty biolode for a biocube 14G. I think the lawnmower Blenny is gonna get his own tank soon, since I know that he can outgrow that 14G or already is too big. I have started removing the BioBalls in hopes that they are the nitrate source. I am also running a carbon pouch, nitrate absorder, and phosphate guard in the middle chamber. I would like to add a refugium in the middle or last chamber but am not sure where to get a light for it or how to go about it. With that said I purchased a nano-sized purple mushroom colony. I was sure to put fresh power compacts in and will keep updated and post a pic soon. I am excited since I have had the tank a year or so with the intent to make it into a soft coral tank and this is a benchmark in my building process.

[CarmieJo]

I think that you will find that removing the bioballs will help lower your nitrates.

As far as a fuge goes, many people scrape the black plastic off of the outside and light the fuge that way. I have read of people using DIY LEDs and mounting them in the hood to light the fuge.

[KonfusedBiocube]

It's funny how things work out isn't it? So I did some research since this PH thing was erking me to no end and found that the tap water sucked (ph of 7.8). After adding a myriad of different salt mixes the ph was ....... 7.8 (yawn). So I said to myself could It be that such a complex problem in my mind is really that simple? I went to Walgreen's, yes the pharmacy, and purchased some distilled water, mixed in some salt to a SG of 1.025 as read by my trusty refractometer and wallah 8.2. Come to find out that the city I live in has crappy PH water, so that means that you can run it through any staged, latest and greatest RO/DI filter/membrane/whatever and guess what..... 7.8 PH. Tp back this theory further, the LFS I purchased my Mushroom colony from, had horrific nitrates say 15'ish, and 7.8-7.9 PH water. Lucky for me I have a 14 gallon aquarium and I am perfectly content with the DI water for now....Which of course brings me to my next big question....Anyone need a RO/DI Unit?

[CarmieJo]

That is somewhat surprising, distilled water should have a pH of around 7 so you would expect that a higher beginning pH should mix up at least as high. What is the TDS of your RO/DI water? Have you checked your RO/DI for nitrates? I don't think that there is a direct relationship between nitrates and pH.