ph drops i add soda ash it’s fine for a day then crashes again

[cputecch]

I expect the pH is not accurate. The linked article shows how to diagnose this with an aeration test.

i can’t see any link?

 

[cputecch]

Well, this at least explains the high nitrates...

i was told never to wash off the media it will kill the low oxygen bacteria?!?!?

 

[Garf]

i was told never to wash off the media it will kill the low oxygen bacteria?!?!?

You need to do more research, especially reading about anything written by Randy Holmes Farley. He’s my godfather :

 

[AstroCoral]

t

hank you all for saying my tank looks new

i have 2 protein skimmers no co2 but i thought the protein did the same kinda stuff?!?!?

A CO2 scrubber will reduce acid (CO2) from entering the tank by scrubbing the skimmer intake gas with soda lime.

More specifically: The soda lime allows for carbon dioxide neutralization by way of NaOH, Ca(OH)2, and carbonic acid (formed from combining water and carbon dioxide). As the three step reaction ensues this will activate the ethyl violet indicator dye which turns the granules a purple color indicating exhaustion (the reaction is only partially regenerative, specifically in regards to the NaOH).

A skimmer and CO2 scrubber work together, they are not the same thing.

 

[TokenReefer]

my refraction test says i’m at 30 on the dot

Refractometer? 30 ppt? That's very low. Should be aiming 33-35 if you have coral...

 

[Nano_Man]

i was told never to wash off the media it will kill the low oxygen bacteria?!?!?

When you do a water change keep some of the water aside that comes out the tank you can clean your filter sponges but gently not like your washing your dishes change your filter floss completely and if running carbon replace it with new this is part of your cleaning routine say once a month. But like I said gently clean the sponges remember them sponges are full of good bacteria so gently does it . And never wash the sponges under tap water that will kill everything .
@blaxsun might give you more pointers

 

[blaxsun]

When you do a water change keep some of the water aside that comes out the tank you can clean your filter sponges but gently not like your washing your dishes change your filter floss completely and if running carbon replace it with new this is part of your cleaning routine say once a month. But like I said gently clean the sponges remember them sponges are full of good bacteria so gently does it . And never wash the sponges under tap water that will kill everything .
@blaxsun might give you more pointers

Your canister filter isn't a refugium, so just like any AIO or HOB filtration, the pre-filter is designed to catch the bulk of the stuff. It should be thoroughly rinsed in hot water every 3-5 days. If you have a spare filter (always recommended), it's easy to replace with the clean spare while you let the pre-filter soak in hot water and white vinegar for a few hours (this will throughly clean it out).

Carbon should get completely ditched and replaced every month. If you're also running bio media, this can be removed and placed in a container of saltwater and gently swished around to rinse. The bacteria in the bio media is what you want to generally preserve (but this too can be removed and throughly rinsed under hot water every 6 months or so).

You probably want to thoroughly clean you canister filter every 6-12 months depending on buildup, nitrate levels, etc.

I watched an interesting video on YouTube where the guy was running a canister filter on his SPS tank (mainly for aesthetics), and he ran the output for the canister through a Tunze macro algae reactor to reduce his nutrient load.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

so your saying wait a week before freaking out. as long as my coral and fish are doing ok now i’ll continue to do what i’m doing now (very little) and wait to see.

That's what I would do.

 

[cputecch]

Refractometer? 30 ppt? That's very low. Should be aiming 33-35 if you have coral...

i do both seems like everyone’s happy at 30

 

[AstroCoral]

i do both seems like everyone’s happy at 30

I’m not sure what you mean by “both”? Keeping a stable salinity is paramount to keeping a healthy tank. 30ppt means all of your tanks macro and trace elements are likely low unless your supplementing them in addition to water changes. You’ll have less buffering capacity due to the diluted concentrations of bicarbonate in your salt mix.

 

[cputecch]

Refractometer? 30 ppt? That's very low. Should be aiming 33-35 if you have coral...

i do both seems like everyone’s happy at 30

That's what I would do.

my alkalinity is at 12 drops????

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

How do things look now?

 

[jvbear]

Going to remove the emergency tag. pH 7.6, whether real or test error, is not an emergency.

The nitrate is not that high. The nitrite (if accurate) is interfering and causing a false positive.

Instant Remover means what to you? Stop adding it. The ammonia is likely not real, and if it is, is not high enough to be a big problem.

How are you measuring pH?



What is the alkalinity?

Don't dose soda ash or anything else to boost or maintain pH unless you need alkalinity because they are all alk supplements.

If using RO water, that is already alkaline

 

[jvbear]

i was told never to wash off the media it will kill the low oxygen bacteria?!?!?

In my 75g freshwater tank I use Fluval filters. I recently took tank water in a 5g bucket and rinsed media in it.

 

[Garf]

If using RO water, that is already alkaline

Maybe a tiny bit but RO and RODI have so little or no buffering capacity, it’s of little consequence. Welcome to reef2reef, btw

 

[jvbear]

Maybe a tiny bit but RO and RODI have so little or no buffering capacity, it’s of little consequence. Welcome to reef2reef, btw

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

If using RO water, that is already alkaline

What makes you claim that?

I discuss the pH of RO/DI water here:

Reverse Osmosis/Deionization Systems to Purify Tap Water for Reef Aquaria by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com


Final Effluent pH

Aside from the issues discussed above concerning the effluent’s pH when the DI resin becomes depleted, the final pH coming out of an RO/DI system should not significantly concern reef aquarists. Many aquarists with low pH problems have asked, for example, if their aquarium’s low pH may be caused by their replacing evaporated water with RO/DI water that they measure to have a pH below 7. In short, the answer is no, this is not a cause of low pH nor is it something to be generally concerned about, for the following reasons:

1. The pH of totally pure water is around 7 (with the exact value depending on temperature). As carbon dioxide from the atmosphere enters the water, the pH drops into the 6’s and even into the 5’s, depending on the amount of CO2. At saturation with the level of CO2 in normal (outside) air, the pH would be about 5.66. Indoor air often has even more CO2, and the pH can drop a bit lower, into the 5’s. Consequently, the pH of highly purified water coming from an RO/DI unit is expected to be in the pH 5-7 range.

2. The pH of highly purified water is not accurately measured by test kits, or by pH meters. There are several different reasons for this, including the fact that highly purified water has very little buffering capacity, so its pH is easily changed. Even the acidity or basicity of a pH test kit’s indicator dye is enough to alter pure water’s measured pH. As for pH meters, the probes themselves do not function well in the very low ionic strength of pure freshwater, and trace impurities on them can swing the pH around quite a bit.

3. The pH of the combination of two solutions does not necessarily reflect the average (not even a weighted average) of their two pH values. The final pH of a mixture may actually not even be between the pH’s of the two solutions when combined. Consequently, adding pH 7 pure water to pH 8.2 seawater will not even result in a pH below 8.2, but rather it will be higher than 8.2 (for complex reasons relating to the acidity of bicarbonate in seawater vs. freshwater).

 

[cputecch]

hi, i have a 125 gallon saltwater tank with fx6 canister filter i just clean out/ deep clean and after my ammonia spiked, so i added some instant remover to it no i have .25 ammonia, .25 nitrites , 52 nitrates ph 7.6 ish. i’ve been dosing small amounts of soda ash to raise the ph but it crashes within a day again. any help please i’m freaking out. also tanks been up with reverse osmosis water and reef salt for 6 months no ugly phase what’s up with that?????

so here’s a update still no ugly phase nitrates still hanging around 40 even with carbon dosing. but, what it’s been 2 months still no winner of the algae wars. what’s going on??