Elevated pH help

[Cmartinez5188]

I am trying to lower my pH. It is about 8.6 right now. I have been using regular tap water, but just recently started using RO. I have a mix of small fish and a few corals (sm-med). I am running 48" PowerCompacts from Custom Sea Life on a 80gal. I have a Prizm protein skimmer and an Emperor 400, and a bunch of live rock for filtration. I live in an area where the limestone deposit is high. I heard about regular water changes and maybe some kalwasser mix?? Any suggestions?

[JimD]

Use white distilled vinegar to lower your Ph, Kalkwasser will raise it. Start with a quarter cup and add till Ph stablises...

[rotti71]

Vinegar will neutralize the PH. I would add no more than a tbsp at a time to avoid a immediate PH change.

[GaryP]

Mix the vinegar in a gallon of tank water and add slowly. Make sure that your pH is actually high. Some test kits can be inacurrate. A high pH, unless you are using Kalk, is pretty unusual. A problem with low pH is much more common. You don't want to make a large change in your pH quickly, it can shock your tank. A change of pH from 8.6 to 8.3 should be made over several hours to a day.

Gary

[GaryP]

Also make sure to add the water in a high velocity area. A sump would be good, but if you have calcium build up in your return lines all you may end up doing is using the vinegar to clean out your hoses. If white flakes start coming out of your return, you'll know that is whats happening.

[matt]

I second Gary's comment about making sure you are accurately reading ph. If you do not have a ph probe and calibration fluid, as well as some detailed instructions on how to use them, you can't be sure about what your ph is. Color ph tests, other than Salifert (if they make one) are notoriously innacurate. Ph probes must be carefully calibrated with fresh calibration fluid. If you have been adding KW mix, that's your reason.

If all you have added to your tank is R.O. water and salt mix, it's pretty unlikely that you have a ph of 8.6.

Most importantly, WELCOME! to MAAST.