Can't get my ph over 8.0

I have had my tank for about 6 months now and I have never been able to get the ph over 8.0 it usually runs about 7.9 but when I add seachem marine buffer, it only tends to drive the alkalinity up.
I have heard that corals calcify much better at a ph of about 8.2-8.3, is this true? Any tips on how to get the ph up? I will be doing a 30-40% water change here in a couple of days so hopefully that will help. Btw I use Red Sea coral pro salt mix


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I would not use any chemicals to buffer pH, it might cause a pH crash. Use something like this:



or maybe this one:

 

Thanks for the advice!


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Dom90 is right, i needed my ph to be higher than an 8. i got my self the caribsea aragonite sand. worked like a charm. super spike in ph and naturally!! which is a plus!!!

 

Do you currently dose? You may be able to start mixing kalkwasser into your top off to help with Ca, Alk, and your pH. Just make sure the auto top is set to slowly fill into the tank or you'll have a pH spike.

 

I dose calcium. My alkalinity is already very high (14-15 dkh) so I haven't dosed alkalinity but if I could get that down to a normal level, I would start dosing kalkwasser


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I'll have to pick some aragonite sand up today or tomorrow. Any tips on how to get it on the sandbed without covering everything else? And will I need to stir the current sand into it to keep the bacteria at the surface?


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And any recommendations on what size grains to use? I run a good bit of current and I don't want it blowing around anymore


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PVC pipe is your friend with adding sand to established tank. It will let the sand settle to the bottom without clouding up your tank.

But do not add more than half an inch or so at a time, or else you might cause the organisms in the sandbed to die.

 

I'm using CaribSea Aragonite in a 40g breeder with 2 Aqueon 500 pumps, quietflow 55/75 and a emperor 400. No issues with sand being blown around.

Whatever you go with, just make sure to rinse it really good.

 

Something similar to this would suffice:



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the sand i purchased stated to not rinse. so i didnt. added it to the tank, was cloudy for 2 days then super clear.

 

Cool I'll check it out and add slowly. Thank you all for your input


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Any time.

 

Was it live sand?

 

yes delta5 it is live sand.

 

Reason you don't rinse live sand is because you'd be killing the dormant bacteria, making it a waste of money.

If you are just adding to an existing sandbed this doesn't matter and can be rinsed.

 

LiterallyHydro said it best. paying for live sand and washing it out will defeat the purpose of buying "live" sand in the 1st place.

 

If I have sand that has already cycled, is it necessary to pay more for live sand


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Most of your beneficial bacteria live in the filter so I dont think you need to waste money for "live sand".

 

Reef tanks usually don't have filters in the same manner as freshwater tanks.

The surface area for bacteria colonies is the live rock and sand. Live sand is not always a waste of money. The issue though is you don't know how long the bag was sitting on the shelf. Could have been weeks or years.

 

Yes. Keep in mind that this post is in the saltwater section


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