PH - Keeping it high.

[johnnyoc]

I've PH at about 8.0 at the moment. Its taken me a while to get it this high. I'm hoping to get it to 8.2, however it keeps dropping back. Can anyone suggest the best way to do this I've tried a product called Instant 8.2 - or somesuch but it bounces back after a few days.

 

[ChrisRD]

Typically low pH problems are the result of poor aeration, decaying organics in the system, high ambient CO2 levels or low alkalinity.

The first step is to figure out which problem(s) you have. If you can describe your setup and measure the alk level we can start there.

 

[ChrisRD]

BTW, here's a good article on the topic:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php

 

[IslandCrow]

That's an excellent article, and should definitely help you find a good solution to your problem. I'm not sure what's in "Instant 8.2", but I'd guess it's some sort of buffer, which can be problematic when using to control your PH, since they generally do it by raising your alkalinity and ultimately throwing your water parameters out of balance. Not always a big deal if you have a fish only system, but definitely not a good idea for reef tanks.