Does my ph and alk make sense?

[Winged Ocean]

Ok, I tested and my ph is 8.0 and my alk is 12kh...I need my ph to be alittle higher.
The additives I have are Seachems Reef Builder, Marine Buffer, and Reef Complete. My ph seems to be remaining at 8.0. How do I work these additives to get my ph up to 8.3?
Thanks

[tyoberg]

Use baking soda (1tsp) mixed with freshwater and slowly (over 1 or 2 hours) add it to your tank. Repeat daily if necessary.

Ty

[David Grigor]

So tell my why do you think PH needs to be higher ?

Any negative signs from your animals ?

I kept a 90g for years with PH swings from 7.8 in AM to max of 8.1 in PM. Everything was happy and healthy for YEARS......

IMO: Don't go chasing PH numbers. If you keep you ALK and CA levels high PH will fall into acceptable levels.

Ditch the marine buffer and just use an Alk and CA additive. Such as Reef Builder and CA Reef Advantage additives.....

[cmoney]

Why do you need your PH to be higher. 8.0 is not bad, are you having other problems? Is the 8.0 a morning reading , before lights come on, or a evening reading after lights have been on for several hours? What kind of bio load do you have in your tank? how big is your tank? how often do you do water changes. There are several factors that will caused depressed PH readings. I would recommend taking a morning reading or better yet by a PH monitor to have a better idea of average readings.

[Winged Ocean]

One reason for my ph concern, not so much a concern, but I am trying to test a guys theory on here that a ph reading of 8.3 will aid in xenia to pulse..Mine won't pulse. So I wanted to see if I could boost it up a little to see what happens.
My bioload (imo) I'd say is kind of big. I do water changes 1-2 times a week. Everything is healthy and fine, but I just wanted to see if my ph was up to 8.3 if it would have an effect on my xenia.
Thanks

[slojmn]

I'm with David on this one. The one time I tried chasing numbers to bring up a lower pH reading everything got out of whack. Since then I just live with the normal swing of my pH and all animals are growing and healthy in my tank, of course I wish my alk was a bit higher but oh well. FWIW, I thought a swing of 7.7 at night to 8.1 during day was to low. Now, with B-Ionic and a calcium reactor I get 7.8 to 8.3 regularly and everyone seems content. I suggest B-Ionic as it is a breeze to use and has always been good to me.

[David Grigor]

I highly suspect the pulsing xenia has more to do with chemical reactions to something or another coral. I don't think PH is going to be the silver bullet. While I have no idea if you strand of xenia you have vs. me but I didn't observe any pulsing issues based on PH alone.....

[cmoney]

I have heard other claims to xenia pulsing being tied to PH but have never witnessed it first hand. If you have a heavy fish load, you may always have a battle with PH in the ranges you are currently experiencing. As I mentioned previously there are other things that will contrubite to directly to your total PH readings. I agree that you should look to other areas as to the cause of you xenia not pulsing, the PH reading you have currently not that far off the mark to cause any problems.

[Winged Ocean]

thanks all. I've tried xenia twice in my tank..back when, when the tank was first established, and now after it is a yr old. They just don't seem to like me. They grow great, but just don't pulse for me. Oh well. Thanks again.

[Frick-n-Frags]

Voodoo is what Xenia run on. I have a plague of red sea pink Xenias but I never could and still can't keep stupid X. elongata alive. It mopes and fades over a few months or a year but it always fades, whereas my pink Xenia are a pest(hundreds of colonies) and I harvest or destroy them regularly. They never stop pulsing. The Aiptasia are the only thing I have that slow those Xenias down.

[jay3]

How much lighting do you have, and where are you placing your xenia? These creatures need alot of light, and in all the threads, in all the different message boards that i've read, the most frequent mistake is to not provide adequate lighting.

[plankton]

I agree with the other posters that it is really a waste of time to chase numbers.

I'd like to ask another obvious question. When was the last time you calibrated your pH probe with 7/10 points? Or, if it is a pH test kit you may need to purchase another one. Most (if not all tanks) "remain" at a particular pH. Large tanks may have a very narrow range: 8.1 to 8.2 but most of us with smaller tanks ~100G will experience pH ranges like 8.1 to 8.3, etc. Try measuring your pH let's say in the morning or night and noon.

pH of 8.0 especially at night is rather normal.

[Winged Ocean]

I have been trying every theory found throughout the many threads of this board to get my xenia to pulse for me...with the first bunch I had and now this one. And now I have made my way to the ph theory because the others have so far fallen flat for me.
Oh, and I only have four fish in a 29gl (2 green chromis and 2 firefish). So maybe one of these days I will find what works, or maybe not and just let the xenia grow for trade.

[Frick-n-Frags]

I know, get some Anthelia, then you won't have to worry about pulsing. It looks cool just waving in the breeze.

[MJB]

FWIW Anthony Calfo suggests in his Book of Coral Propagation that depressed pH (< 8.3) may be a factor in Xeniids ceasing to pulse.--MJB

[rastafarian]

but I am trying to test a guys theory on here that a ph reading of 8.3 will aid in xenia to pulse

was this me? i had just posted something to this effect a few days ago...

here is a good test (if you have enough xenia, or if the xenia rock is moveable):

remove about 1 gallon of tank water, place it into some sort of container. buffer the water to 8.3+. place a stalk of xenia into the container and observe.

chasing numbers is one thing, bringing up ph slowly over a few weeks is doable, imo.

[Randy V]

I had always been under the impression that xenia pulsing was related to the amount of organics in the water. Xenia want to feed but pulsing expends energy. If there are enough organics in the water that they don't have to pulse in order to feed then they don't to conserve energy. If orgnics are low then they pulse to improve water flow and bring more organics within reach. I don't keep xenia and would be interested to know if anyone has ever tested that theory.

On your original question, I use the Seachem product that you have "Marine Buffer" and it always brings my PH up to 8.3. I slowly add and test at the same time each day until the tank stabilizes at approximately 8.3. Once it's there I use Reef Builder to maintain the buffer.

[Winged Ocean]

LOL yes it was you, Rastafarian, that I read about the xenia in a bag test. And as a matter of fact, my xenia is on a small rock so I may try that to see what happens.
I'll let you know what happens, if it does work for mine.
Thanks all