I have had a few customers now complain that even though they have added more and more 8.4 to their tanks, their Carbonate Hardness will not exceed 6dh using on their test kit, and their pH remains at approximately 8.2. While strange things happen in idividual tanks from time to time, this problem is starting occur more often than I would have expected. Any ideas would be much appreciated.
Tech Support GL
09-10-2008, 10:50
Since there are no tank parameters to go on, there are several parameters that we can look at to help anyone. That does not mean all of these things need to be done but it helps to look at and understand various reasons for issues. Controlling waste production in a tank will greatly help to keep pH up. Waste production from over feeding, food not eaten, fish waste will drive the pH down. A good protein skimmer will remove a lot of that waste, since you have a small system good chemical filtration will help. Purigen will remove organic waste from the system efficiently. Purigen is a small bead shaped resin, can be regenerated, will not impact minerals, and has a color change to dark brown to note exhaustion. Waste is just one thing to look at. Balance is designed to consume pH dropping organic waste and help convert bicarbonate to carbonate keeping the pH high. organic waste also consumes alkalinity as well.
Calcium should be from 380-420 ppm and Magnesium around 1300 ppm or at least 3 times the calcium level. If you maintain these levels then maintaining a relatively stable KH will be easier to keep KH and calcium from binding and lowering each other.
KH and pH are very closely related. The KH should be 4-6 meq/L or 12-18 dKH. If you have a good buffering system in place (KH), then your pH will be more stable. Know if you are using tap water there could be other buffering components lowering the pH and you could still see a high KH. There are three main types of alkalinity: borate, carbonate, and bicarbonate. Borate and carbonate have a pH in the 10's whereas bicarbonate has a pH of 7.8. You should check to see if you have more bicarbonate in the system than of the other two, which can also drive down pH. Which in the test kit link the Reef Status; Magnesium Test Kit has a portion of the kit that will allow you to check that. In either case you need to use a buffer to first increase pH with alkalinity in the correct balance of buffers. Balance (Aquavitro) will initially raise pH but if all of the other parameters are not correct it will shift down. The bottle does have a small explanation of this on the container. Balance is a hydroxide blend that will eat away organic acids that keep people with otherwise perfect parameters from achieving the desired pH. Adding 8.4 with Balance will make things quite a bit easier.
The main thing to do to increase pH more than likely will be to increase the magnesium and alkalinity in addition to using Balance. Ions is the magnesium supplement that will quickly increase your magnesium and 8.4 will increase the pH and alkalinity. If you already have good filtration and perform regular water changes adding the other two products will make the shift in pH and alkalinity much easier.
In short it could be organics and/or lower parameters off in calcium/magnesium. Organic build will always happen in a tank no matter what the other numbers look like. Organics consume alkalinity and drive pH down- this is why we created Balance.