pH dropped

[Arce]

Just got home from vacation, i had my sister looking over my 20 gallon. All she had to do was add top off when needed and she did. Came home and saw my torch was bleaching white and some other corals just not looking happy. Thought something happened to the timer on my lights but it was fine. Check my levels... Calc 420, alk 11, 1.027 sg, 0 ammonia trites trates. Then checked my ph and it was lowww. Around 7.6-7.8. I dont know why it dropped. Could this be why my torch is bleaching white? Just did a WC, not sure what else to do.

 

[iTzJu]

7.8 is acceptable, i would be more concerned with your alk that high.

 

[Arce]

Which would cause my torch to bleach? I didnt move it or anything for i left or change my lighting. And my pH is 7.6 Just checked it again to make sure i didnt test wrong.

 

[Arce]

Alk was in dkh btw so 11 I believe isnt high? But could be wrong.

 

[dan_k]

11 is high if it went from 8 to 11 over a 24-48hour period then that would cause a problem what was your ALK before vaction do you have dosing pumps

 

[Arce]

I don't have dosing pumps or dose anything at all. Before I left for vacation I think it was around 9-10. I think its more of a pH problem since it dropped so low.

 

[mnat]

Alk acts as a buffer and with Alk that high your PH should not drop. Did anything in the room change, like AC, open windows, etc?

 

[redfishbluefish]

I agree with others….your alk seems a tad high.


I also would not chase after pH. The pH you’ve mentioned isn’t that bad…..although I don’t believe it. Anyway, it would not cause the bleaching you are seeing. I would see if you could verify pH with a fellow reefer. Or maybe re-calibrate your pH probe.


Maintain a proper alk, calc and mag level, and your pH will be just fine….unless you have a carbon dioxide problem….which I doubt.

 

[Arce]

When i came back i noticed my sister was keeping my door to my room (where the tank is) closed and it was very "stale" air i guess you can say so maybe there wasnt enough gas exchange which lead to the ph drop? What should i do about the high alk, if 11 is high its been around that level since i really started the tank.

 

[Arce]

Heres a picture of the torch, you can see it turning white in the bottom left side

 

[mnat]

People say the accepted range of alk is 7-12 but that is not 100% accurate. 8-9 is really the sweet spot unless you are running something differently, i.e. zeovit users generally run around 7.

Low oxygen can lead to drops in PH, hence with the closed door it may have led to the drop.

 

[TanksNStuff]

Before you start going crazy trying to "correct" your pH... I have a question for you.

Is there any chance that your torch is just growing and that is just a new undeveloped head? I don't have any torches, so I don't know how they grow, but I have a branching hammer that grows like a weed and all the babies always start out a pale white color very similar to what that looks like... before they fully form.

So, could this be just a new growth or are you certain the white looking portion was there before?

 

[Arce]

No the white part of the torch was there already so its not new growth. Some other parts also had white spots but not as noticable in the pictures. Yesterday i did a waterchange and i cranked up the A/C and fan in my room to circulate some air and pH by the end of the day was around an 8.0 and alk was back to around 9-10. As i did the WC i noticed some of my other corals had a few light bleached spots so hopefully over time they will heal. Should i reduce my lighting to allow the zooxanthellae to heal/grow or should i leave it as it is.

 

[Hawkeye]

if the door was closed and there was no A/C - isn't it possible the corals bleached due to high temp? now that the condition is resolved (heat) the tank should recover (hopefully). I almost feel like you shouldn't adjust anything as long as the temp is stablizied.

 

[Arce]

I haven't changed anything or did anything other than a water change so far. I don't think it would have passed 82 degrees seeing how thats the highest ive seen it without a fan on and low A/C, usually i sit around 80 during the day. Im leaning towards it ending up being due to the pH / Alk swing.

 

[ThatGuy]

Is there anything within striking distance that might have battled with the torch while you were away? I had a torch go at it with my slipper(indestructible) and it bleached out before the flesh came off the stony part.

 

[Arce]

Is there anything within striking distance that might have battled with the torch while you were away? I had a torch go at it with my slipper(indestructible) and it bleached out before the flesh came off the stony part.

No nothings next to it but its also not the only coral to have some bleaching. Noticed my plate also had some bleaching so i ruled out anything attacking it.

 

[Arce]

Well I lost a couple corals due to whatever happened when I went on vacation, whether it was the low ph or high alk or something else. Lost a pink birdsnest, a red cap and a purple cap. My torch is doing alright, still bleached out in one section but the rest of it looks like its healing. My toadstool doesn't look too good and has been acting up, not to sure what to do with it. And then the only other coral left that looks like it was affected was my plate which still has a little bit of white spots but seems like it will make it.

 

[mnat]

What is your alk at now?

 

[Arce]

I checked it on Friday it was around a 9 but I just checked it now and I'm back at 11, what could cause my alk problem? I just bought new salt mix. I am using an API test kit so it doesn't say much but still shouldn't b reading 9 one day than tonight 11.