Cant get my ph to go up

cskendrick

I think the aquaripure is making my ph lower, its staying around 7.5, every time i raise my ph, it just keep going down. Any one else is having this problem with you aquaripure denitrator. Or is any thing else i can do to fix this problem, need help

fish_4_all

I hope Aquaripure will answer also but I have some questions that might help figure out why. Do you have driftwood in the tank? You said you have been altering you pH, have you been altering it using chemicals? If so, more often than not the effects are temporary at best. Stop using them unless you have a real need to have a high pH. 7.5 is not that bad for most fish. Crushed coral is the best way I know if to raise your pH naturally. What kind of fish do you have that you want a higher pH?

I would be interested to know if the denitrator can lower pH. Might actually be a good thing for some species specific keepers.

Aquaripure

The Aquaripure will slowly lower pH in some tanks, particularly saltwater tanks that have very high pH. This is why I stress in the manual and website to test and maintain the proper pH. This is not the case in ALL aquariums though. In my FW planted tank with an Aquaripure the pH actually increases over time however.

There is a very simple and cheap solution. I find baking soda or sodium bicarbonate to be an extremely effective buffer and way to increase pH. What some people don't realize is that your tank has to be completely buffered before sodium bicarbonate will actually increase pH. This is desirable since at that point the pH swings will be far less noticable and more subtle and you can just add a little bit every week or two to maintain the pH.

For example, in a 200 gallon tank that is poorly buffered you might need 5 or more table spoons before the baking soda even BEGINS to increase the pH. In other words you will keep putting in baking soda and it will look like the pH isn't affected at all ! However, once the tank is properly buffered it will begin to increase the pH and once you get it to the proper pH you will only need a tablespoon a week to maintain it at the correct pH.

In my 200 gallon reef tank I only need 1 tablespoon of sodium bicarbonate a week to maintain a proper pH. I also add a little calcium carbonate from time to time as well. Everyones tank may vary. In a FW tank you probably do not need the calcium carbonate but the baking soda still works.

You need to increase pH slowly at first to give your fish time to adjust but once it is done it is very easy to maintain.