pH

[ams31]

I checked my water quality this morning and everything was normal except for the pH. It was between 7.4 and 7.8. The pH has been normal since the tank was established. This is the first time that it has dropped this low. Will a simple water change help bring up the pH? I want to try and use the least amount of chemical supplements to keep my tank regulated as possible.
Thanks

[DizziDezi2]

you can add marine buff...there are soem that you can add a whole lot without overdosing. (well- you can overdose- but youd really have to be dumb and puts tons and tons in.) add marine buff and let it set for a bit and check your levels again.

[newtofish]

Your tank is a 44 gallon. If you do a water change it would not hurt it at all. Check the Ph level of the new water prior to doing it. It will not bring it back up where it is supposed to be but, it will bring it up.
It should give you time to research: Why it dropped? How you want to treat the problem you find.
Good luck keep us posted.

[ams31]

I recently added live rock to the tank. Could that have caused it to drop? I also forgot to mention that a brown alae has started growing in the tank, since the LR was introduced. It was put in the tank about 2 1/2 weeks ago.

[Sugar Magnolia]

If you added LR that wasn't fully cured, the tank is likely going through a cycle and that would explain the pH drop. pH swings up and down during the cycle so don't bother trying to adjust it until the cycle finishes.

[ams31]

I was told that it was cured from the pet store. As the cycle finishes will it stress my fish? RIght now they are doing fine, they are acting normally.

[ryan37211]

If you are getting brown looking algea. It is not algea they are called diatoms and it is part of the cycling procedure. I woould use some buffer and see if that raises it. If that does not help then and only then would I do a water change. And also, as I found out the hard way when it comes to saltwater do not trust the pat store (unless they specialize in saltwater)

[ams31]

What type of buffer do you reccomend? Should I put my fish in QT? They do not appear to be stressed right now, but could they become stressed as the cycling goes on? Right now the shrimp is cleaning off the diatoms.

[ams31]

I tested my pH again this morning and it is beginning to rise. Instead of being between 7.4 and 7.8 it is now a true 7.8. Hopefully in a few more days it will be back to normal.

[hydrahawk]

Here my advise, LR are never cured after you buy it from the store (unless you take the rocks homes with you submerged.) You can always expect your LR to go thru another cycle. Now we know. :)

[EXVISOR]

I buff my water every other week when I do a water change, my ph also was good for a long time but after about six months to a year it would not maintain, now like I said I buff every other wek and I use the super buffer by kent

I would advise against buffing the PH for any reason. Here's why... PH buffers simply add alkalinity. If you are buffing the PH you are adding alkalinity into the system. So rather than buffing PH you should really be testing alkalinity levels and maintaining those levels, along with your calcium sense alkalinity and calcium go hand in hand.

Now, if your alkalinity is at a decent level (8dkh to 12dkh IMO) and you still have a low PH then you have one of two problems. One, you have a build up of CO2 in the system or two, you have a build up of inorganic acids.

With the new rock being added I would assume like the others you are going through a mini cycle so the inorganic acids is most likely the cause. Time will cure this as the rock cycles and builds up the bacteria needed to process the waste.

If you still have problems after a few weeks test your alkalinity (or go ahead and test it now). If it is good start looking at the CO2...