ph and alk problem

[Mantis806]

i already posted this once on this forum. i have a hospital tank running for my fish for ich. i'm using hyposalinity. but the thing is the alk and ph constantly drop. is it happening b/c there's not enough air in the water? i'm running a biowheel rated for a 20 gallon tank and this is only a 10 gallon. shouldn't there be more than enough air? i have 4 chromis, sixline wrasse, and a kole tang in there. the ph and alk seem to be ok when i'm dripping kalk. but after about half a day the ph and alk drop. should i constantly drip kalk? should i buffer the new water b4 i put it in the tank? the new water i mix up always has low ph and alk too. i'm using oceanic. should i throw an airstone in there? i REALLY don't want my fish to die. i like them so much and have grown quite attached to them. please help? thanks.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

The pH may drop for a variety of reasons, including low alkalinity, and excess carbon dioxide. The excess carbon dioxide may come from teh air,so in that case, perfect aeration with that high CO2 air will keep thge pH lower than normal.

What is the alkalinity in the hypo water?

Your experience with limewater is not unusual. It mirrors the effects that many folks have in their reef aquaria: limewater keeps pH up when being added, but not permanently without continued additions.