Numbers off

MuralReef

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#1
I can't figure out what's going on in my tank. What started to alarm me was that many of my zoas are not opening. I have also noticed the pH has been alarming low at night around 7.6. I run a calcium reactor so I haven't been adding supplements. Here are the numbers
Temp. 76
pH 7.6 at night to 7.9 during the day
Dkh 6 usually 8
Calcium 420
Magnesium 1200
Ammonia, Nitrite, Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0.05

I added mag today thinking that the low mag is leading to my other low numbers but I'm not sure. Should I up the flow on calcium reactor? Any advice would be appreciated.
 

CRW Reef

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#2
Mike I'm the last one to advise you on calcium reactors but could the ZOA issue be fish who is starting to take a liking to Zoas you think?
 

Munch

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#3
Looks for pests.. Also, mine were unhappy when my dosing pump died for a week, unknown to me, my alk dropped from 8.4 down to low 5's.

Finally, make sure they are getting enough nutrients, mine were closed for 2 weeks when I stopped feeding my tank.
 

sethsolomon

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as for the ph problem, you could do a CO2 scrubber on the air intake of your skimmer. I have soda lime if you need some.
 

MuralReef

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#5
CRW Reef;341749 said:
Mike I'm the last one to advise you on calcium reactors but could the ZOA issue be fish who is starting to take a liking to Zoas you think?
I haven't noticed any fish munching on the zoas but I'll keep an eye on them.
 

MuralReef

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#6
What I'm most worried about is my Alk and low pH. But it could be a CO2 issue as Seth suggested as I recently notice that my air intake silencer is really clogged so I removed it and some of the zoas have been looking better.
 

Dr.DiSilicate

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#7
Check for restrictions in all the tubing for your calcium reactor. I had some algae slowing the flow in mine. You could drip some kalkwasser in the evening to help with the ph and alk issue in the short term.
 

jda123

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#8
99.9% of low PH issues is high amounts of CO2 in the ambient air. Is the air quality in your room not good? Open some windows for a while - these 60 degree days are awesome for that.

Get the alk up with some baking soda. I like a NSW alk system for my SPS, but 6 is pretty low. I keep zoas in my tanks and I need to keep it above 7 or else they get mad.
 

SynDen

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Hmm your numbers look exactly like mine are right now, although everything in my tank has been looking awesome. So I would be looking for pests or rogue fish picking at the polyps.
I too also have pretty low ph level, almost exactly like yours even though I run the fuge on reverse cycle and I constantly open the cabinet and the windows next to it to try and bring in more o2 but never the less, unless I buffer my ph I don't get above 8 on most days and generally hovers around 7.9 during the day and 7.6 at night.
I tested my tank this weekend just to see where numbers were at since I hadnt done it in quite a while and also found my alk was at about 6.7. Oddly enough everything looked great even with that low alk and when I tried to adjust it, with baking soda, upward again some of the lps started to look a tad annoyed. I think though that the tank has been fairly stable, even if the numbers are a bit off and messing with it only seems to aggravate things, so I am rethinking my top off additives, but otherwise going to mostly leave it alone and see what it does.
Beginning to think its just my tank personality
 

SynDen

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#10
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