Should I worry about this?

[tebstan]

I have about 30 gallons of mix water churning on the patio. The KH is kinda high (15) and the pH is kinda low (7.9).

In the main tank, KH is 9 and pH is 8.4.

How concerned should I be?

When I mix the water I always add salt, wait a few days, add buffer, wait a few days, test it to be sure, and then do the water change. It's always been right on before... but this time I had the bright idea to clean the hose.

It was getting icky and I'm cheap, so I soaked it in vinegar for a few days to get off the gunk. It worked quite well. I thought I rinsed it well enough, but apparently not. That's the only thing different in the routine, so it had to have caused the pH drop, right?

If I'm too cheap to buy a new hose I'm certainly too cheap to dump 30 gallons. Should I try fixing it or not worry about it? I'd be using this mix over a 6 week period, doing 10g every 2 weeks in a 90.

[Europhyllia]

the vinegar would have caused a drop in alkalinity in addition the drop in pH. It wouldn't just be pH. Probably just not aerated well with a small surface area (in a barrel) and excess CO2. Drop an air stone (attached to an air pump) in it and see what happens.
I don't think you'll have a problem. I always wash stuff in vinegar. It's a great cheap and safe cleaner.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php

[ErikH]

Vinegar will drop PH quickly in very low amounts.

[Europhyllia]

it would drop pH because it would drop alkalinity. 15 dkh isn't exactly low so whatever got lowered by the vinegar didn't impact it much IMO.
Aeration should make a difference

[tebstan]

I added an air pump yesterday afternoon.

It appears to be working, but oh so slowly. I didn't have an air stone so it's just the tube blowing big bubbles. I'll pick up a stone today, hopefully that will speed things up.

I'm very impatient, the water change was supposed to be yesterday, now it probably won't be until tomorrow. Ack! My routine!

(I'm a very routine oriented person.)

[Europhyllia]

skimmer pump and surface agitation would work too