PH off the scale

[swaterfreak]

My PH is reading 8.8, what do i do, I am trying to acclimate a fish to drop in but the LFS told me to also check my parameters before putting her in my system. I have the fish in a 2 gal bucket and they told me to add 1 cup of my water every 10-15 minutes. Will the buffer or prime lower my PH?

 

[swaterfreak]

24 gal nano, Potters angel about 2.5 in. New test kit. So how can i lower the PH in my new water for the wc.

 

[navyreefer]

Most buffers will not raise the PH over 8.3 so I don't think that would be it. I think this is the first time I have seen someone complain about a high PH.

 

[navyreefer]

Reef Builder by Seachem.

I guess I always assumed that when it said "Raises PH to 8.3" that is what it did.....now that I think about it thats kinda stupid and not even possible.

 

[swaterfreak]

I only have a couple of leathers, zenia, star polyps and frogspawn and i dont think they look right. Pom Poms are pulsating but slow. Most everything is asleep when i get home at 8pm. My boyfriend just helped me retest and it reads 8.8 or higher. The card stops at 8.8 and the color is a light purple.

 

[swaterfreak]

i use buffer plus. i believe it helps my coral too.

 

[purplegorilla]

I never had good luck with those pH strips. ALl the colors look kind of the same to me...You need to invest in a pinpoint Ph meter.

 

[swaterfreak]

i just put my angel in the tank and am mixing saltwater now. Any sugestions on how to re-oxygenize (is that a word) my water, i was told that my water should be mixed for at least 24 hours before adding to tank, i put a powerhead in the bucket of water. What could cause such a spike in PH? I am scared of messing up again. I put a 300 watt heater in the water to warm it up.

 

[swaterfreak]

Water change #1 complete, i was worried that adding the salt to the water would choke out the oxygen so we added an air pump in the bucket as well.

Thanks for all the help everyone.

 

[FutureInterest]

Vinegar is completely safe to use to bring pH down. You just dose a lil at a time and if your pH is really that high for an extended period you can have some serious issues so vinegar has its uses.

Waiting to do a water change the next day just is not an acceptable solution in very high pH situations. That being said, I'm fairly certain your pH test kit must be off. Sustained pH of 8.8 is nearly impossible without some source of constant alkalinity being added to the tank.

In addition, fish are highly tolerant of vast pH changes and other variances in water. I'm in the temp acclimate only camp as I want to get the fish out of the nasty water in the bag asap.

 

[mojo]

Just be very, very careful with vinegar - a little goes a LONG way. On a 24g tank, I'd try about one capful (or teaspoon), wait 15mins, and then take a look at the pH. Really.... be careful....

 

[swaterfreak]

I dose with purple up and feed DT's every other day, add trace elements and phos buster once weekly, I cannot think of where the alkalinity could come from.:lol2: My ph is still reading way high. I am going to try 1/2 tsp vinegar now and again in the morning.

 

[mojo]

The alk is coming from the Purple Up. I'd recommend stopping the dosing on that for a while...

 

[swaterfreak]

ph still reading high after water change and adding 1 tsp of vinegar. New test kit it is before I touch another thing. I cannot afford another crash.

 

[wbholwell]

Yes, please test your pH with another test kit before making any drastic chages to the chemistry of your tank. I also recommend you keep an eye out for a used pH monitor- they can be had for pretty cheap on this forum.

 

[tdwyatt]

Just curious, have you tken some new ASW and mixed it up to 35 PPT (SG = 1.026 at 80 F) and tested it? IO will come out at 8.2 when freshly made with Ro when mixed correctly to full-strength seawater.

You kits are suspect, do you have access to a clean and in-calibration pH meter? Personally, I would not recommend any changes until you get confirmation from a reliable source, making bi potentially tank-crashing changes (adding vinegar) based on your test kit is not a safe way to treat the tank. Confirm your test values as suggested earlier before making any changes other than water changes. If water changes did not affect your test results, then your test kit is most likely off (as the water changes should make some difference in the pH, even if only temporarily)...

Good luck, HTH.

BTW, do you does kalkwasser?