Thanks for your reply haven't had a chance to get a ph test kit yet! Sound advice ta x
If i add baking soda it will lift the ph but after 24 hours it will be completly back to normal. My tap water ph is shocking at around 5!! i need a ph of 7+ for my tank so there was two options available. Add Crushed Coral to my filter (Naturally buffers the water highr) or use a ph buffer (some say dont use it but theres a way of HOW TO DO IT CORRECTLY
I have one tank with the coral and that remains aroud 6.8- 7.5 which is pretty much ideal
How to use pH Agents
The majority of those who suffer from low ph tend to just fill up the tank, then add the pH buffer to the tank and this will raise it back up. however the next time you perform a water change the ph will drop once again as the water your putting in is lower. solution? treat the water BEFORE you put it in the tank so each time you put the water in it will be the same Ph s the tank itself.
Reason for doing this is that the fish will not like the constant ups and downs of the pH shifts, so making the pH constant is a viable solution. Like I have said before the baking soda worked for 24 hours with me then bottomed out, so this didnt work, I starteded using API Proper pH 7.0 during my water changes with tap water conditioner and cut the problem out completely.
What i will say is this worked for ME it may not be the case for others, all i can say is from my own personal experience.
Hope this helps offer some possible solution