How to achieve ph of ~8.3

S

sympley

New Member
Hello,

Just set my nano reef tank. I got my filter, PH, and thermometer running. I put in my salt mix. I was surprised how much salt mix I had to put into my 20G to get the proper salanity. I was adding it with table spoon, then went to 1/2 cups, and then I just starting using full cups. Because of all this trial and error it took me over 6 hours to get it to where I want it. I guess when they said that the full bag of salt is good for 50G, they really meant it.
In any case I got all of the above done, now the times comes to get the pH to the proper level. I am kind of stuck on this one becasue I am not sure how to do that. Do I assume that the salt mix will bring the pH to around 8.3??? Or do I need to purcahse some sort of a special buffer to get the pH up to 8.3?
 
2manytanks

2manytanks

New Member
A pH of 8.3 is an ideal target to shoot for...just don't get fixated on it. A pH range of 8.1 - 8.5 is acceptable for all but the most sensitive inverts.
Typically, most commercial salt mixes give you a pH somewhere in this range, if not right at 8.3.
If you have a test kit...... and you should...check it.

If it's a low, then you'll have to use a buffer to raise your pH..... Seachem makes one.... although most any buffer will raise pH some.

Here's a couple more tips:
1. I use Oceanic salt at a ratio of about 1 cup per gallon of RO/DI. This gives me a sg. of 1.024, which is good by me. Most commercial salt mixes recommend the same ratio.
2. Buy yourself a refractometer....it's gonna save you from getting frustrated with trying to use those insipid hygrometers. You can get them on Ebay for $40 or less.

HTH.
 
S

sympley

New Member
Thank you for all the suggestions. Good to hear that the salt mix should do most if not all of the pH adjustment. I really want to stay away from additives that increase pH because as the articles said it will eventually crush the system and do more harm the good. I have a tests kit, and will test the water tomorrow. It will be running for 2 days by then. All the tiny air bubbles have disappeared and all the salt mix has dissolved. I hope ti will be around the ideal pH ti will make things easier. Next step will be getting the life rock...
 
JeffDubya

JeffDubya

New Member
Sympley...

Buy a bucket and mix your saltwater prior to putting it in the tank. Get 1 and 1/2 measuring cups and just keep them in your salt bucket. When you mix your water, use an extra power head. Drop the salt into your RO/DI water, let the power head do the mixing for you, overnight works great. Get an extra heater too, and match that temp as close as possible before adding to the tank. I like to keep it within .5 degrees, closer if possible.

pH is something I struggled with as a beginner. The seachem buffer is the bomb. You CANNOT overdose with it, and when used consistently, it will give you 8.4 all the time. Don't want 8.4? Just enter your parameters, volume and goal readings on the SeaChem dosing calulator and it will tell you how much you need to add. http://seachem.com/support/DoseCalculat ... ulator.swf

Definitely get the refractometer. Marine Depot makes a great one that goes on sale from time to time. http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem. ... uct=MD2101

If you don't have test kits... time to start investing. Aquarium Pharmecuticals will probably be the most commercially available to you. They are decent and a great place to start. You should be testing pH, Nitrate, Ammonia, Nitrate, KH, Calcium and eventually phosphates. If you have money to blow, buy Salifert tests. Test! Test! Test!

My last advice, stay away from About.com. There's lots of great places to get information on the web, this site included. There's plenty of bad places too. Keep that in mind.

Good luck
 
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