anybody just give up on ph?!

[MammothReefer]

Any of you ever just give up on PH w/your SPS tanks. I can keep it @ a solid 7.8-7.9. Night and day with dripping kalk..but I can't for the life of me get it up to 8.3.. At best when drippling ALOT of kalk I can get it up to 8.0..but at that point i'm dripping more water then i'm evaparating!

My c02 for my calcium reactor is on the same timer as my lights... I've tried airating my sump by cutting up my return pump.. I've got a DSB, and a ton of rock (which is supposed to act as a ph buff **CHiaaaaaaa*)

Everything for hte most part is doing pretty darn good.. but.. It just erks me that I can't get it to where it should be.

[rleechb]

I have the same problem. My remedy: stop caring. :)

As long as everything looks fine, I wouldn't worry about it; you're still safe with that pH.

[Yinger]

are you using a probe to determine your pH? I've given up on using probes. Just buy a test kit and measure every once in a while.

[MammothReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8947102#post8947102 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Yinger
are you using a probe to determine your pH? I've given up on using probes. Just buy a test kit and measure every once in a while.

Both, my probe matches my test kits. :(

[SDguy]

Pick me, pick me!

[DRZL-sauras]

Im not sure if you havent thought of this yourself but you are "reefing at 8000 ft", ever wonder if the thin air is working against your favor.

just my .02

[MammothReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8947484#post8947484 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DRZL-sauras
Im not sure if you havent thought of this yourself but you are "reefing at 8000 ft", ever wonder if the thin air is working against your favor.

just my .02

Ya the altitude, and the winter. I've talked to some of the other local reefers here (Victoria on RC) and she has seen a lot of people have PH issues in the winter due to do all the Co2 in the house (since everything is so air tight to heat the place up)...except I have 50% of my water in my garage which isn't sealed....but my skimmer is inside so that isn't helping.

I wonder if a whole bunch of house plants will help ;)

[murphreef]

my Ph stays low too and im only at 900 feet high lol

before the lights come on this morning it was at 7.78 on my Ph probe and last night when the lights went out it was at 8.05... hardly great IMO but everything seems to be doing fine i vented my skimmer 2 weeks ago to outside air and i open the windows for a few hours a day but still no real improvement in PH

i also started adding Kalk to my top off water... about 2 teaspons to a 15 gallon container and it rose that top off water to 11.5ph but even with topping off with kalk water it still hasnt healped much

i think im just guna give up and turn the darn meter off

[MiddletonMark]

While without calibration they seem to drift over time - I still find it a useful stat ... if it changes rapidly, or seems high/low it just causes me to test further.

That said, if my Ca/Alk/etc test fine ... I don't try to alter what the pH meter is reading. IMO, while a proper pH no doubt is good to have ... it's less important than stable and good Alk levels, or having the rest of the chemistry in line.

Just my opinion - while I do check the readout on my ac daily if not more ... only when it seems truly `wacky' do I move on with testing and making sure things are in line. But I find it a somewhat useful tool to observe when my Alk is starting to drift high/low.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8947102#post8947102 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Yinger
I've given up on using probes. Just buy a test kit and measure every once in a while.
:lol: ... I first got a probe when I got 4 different test kits [2 of a `good' brand + 2 other brands] and none of them agreed with each other, not even the two of the same brand.

Since that point, I've considered pH to be among the lesser important #'s to have perfectly in line.

[NewSchool04]

How bout shutting off your Ca reactor in the winter and using Randy's two part for Ca and Alk. With recipe #1, the Alk portion is made by baking baking soda, very high pH. Dosing that every other day plus your Kalk drip should make you good to go.

[MammothReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8947705#post8947705 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NewSchool04
How bout shutting off your Ca reactor in the winter and using Randy's two part for Ca and Alk. With recipe #1, the Alk portion is made by baking baking soda, very high pH. Dosing that every other day plus your Kalk drip should make you good to go.

oh god no more daily maintence ;) to poor for a litermeter (need a new skimmer first saving up for a BM300)

Not to mention my caclium and alk are spot on.

I'm wondering if a kalk reactor will work better then dripping kalk, any thoughts?

[NewSchool04]

how are you dripping the Kalk now?
Kalk reactor is just another fancy gadget, I'd spend my money on the skimmer if you're just going to let things go. Either way, if you're having success, then stick with it!

[MammothReefer]

with a 2.5 gallon Kent drippin jug.

[TandN]

i have no cal reactor and mine is a solid 7.8-8.0 I dose randy's 2 part wit a doser i use the one that raises the PH does nothing

[Kubi]

sea level and windows open 7.8 @ night, solid 8 during the day.

[NewSchool04]

Oh man, I remember my Kent dripping days. What a nightmare, I was always fiddling with that dripper! This is the best $$$ I've spent in this hobby, Nautilus II reef dosing pump. Set and forget!
www.innovativeaquatics.com

[gskidmor]

In six years, I don't think I've ever tested my pH, admittedly the first 3 years were mainly fish/invertebrate only (some mushrooms, but nothing light intensive)!!

Whats the quick and dirty on this - skimming lowers the pH. I realize Ca reactors would since the water entering the tank is a lower pH

[dvanacker]

I did away with my PH monitor too....actual it did away with me...dang finicky POS.

Used to run a ca reactor and kalk reactor......traded them both in for Randy' DIY 2part (raise ph version) and havent looked back. Now I just check with a dropper evey once in a while. As far as I'm concerned if the tank is doing the pH is a OK.

[Victoria]

Hey Mammoth
Sorry to here you are still having a ph problem. What is you alk, ca run at? Mag?. What is the ph in your new salt water? There is a test to do for indoor co2... Take a cup a tank water and airate it for an hour with outside air, If the ph goes up its indoor co2.
Hey I need to borrow that fish trap if I could??

[dots]

Yeah, I don't see the alk level......which controls the Ph.........if its high, your Ph will be locked into place.........lower alk will allow you to raise it and set it......once its where you want, raise the alk and keep it up. That is if I read all those articles correctly way back when.......Alk is like a shock absorber on a car....the higher it is the "stiffer" the spring is and the ph doesn't move.....conversly, low alk creates a "weak spring" and the ph moves freely.

Stable is best thing, and it looks like you have that......you may be over analyzing at this point.

I havn't test ph in a LONG time and only do on newer tanks.

Second the inovative dosers....I have a sentry.......the consintency of constant drip made my growth rate intense.....way cool!!!......Would like a two channel seperate controlled circuits, just in case they ever do get out of balance.....that way the Ca or Alk could be adjusted and fine tuned individually.

[MammothReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8949745#post8949745 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Victoria
Hey Mammoth
Sorry to here you are still having a ph problem. What is you alk, ca run at? Mag?. What is the ph in your new salt water? There is a test to do for indoor co2... Take a cup a tank water and airate it for an hour with outside air, If the ph goes up its indoor co2.
Hey I need to borrow that fish trap if I could??


I don't recall my alk off hand have to check again, but I checked my Calk the other nite and i'm right around 420-440.

I believe lance has the fish trap. I'll try to get it back from him.

[LobsterOfJustice]

pH will equalize with the CO2 in your house. You can add all the buffer you want, come back the next day and it will be right back where it was. I was running about 8.2 when I was using kalk, but with my CaRx I'm running right around 8. As long as it remains relatively constant, I dont believe it's an issue.

[Serioussnaps]

Also, open your windows one day if you get a warm day and turn some ceiling fans on...through last summer i had 8.15 at night and 8.32 during the day.....this winter when no one was going in and out and the air was getting staler in the house i couldnt get over 8.18...new years day i had people over and it was warm so i opened all the windows up and turn fans on and BAM...back to where it was

just a thought......try it

[MammothReefer]

hehe thats not gonna happen any time soon :( in the low teens right now...i'm going to try moving my skimmer into the garage.

[MammothReefer]

well...that went bad.. really bad.. pump wire got caught in door...skimmer... fell out of hands...trying to glue it back together again :(

[DMK]

my ph stays 7.8-7.9 for 4 years w/ no problems. as long as it's stable and stays above 7.7, u should be fine...

[Sullivmw]

I run my skimmer air line outside, and that marginally helped maybe went from a 8.0 to about 8.15. But it will depend a lot on how much air your skiimer will pull vs the amount of water. I have heard other people say it helped almost .2

[stony_corals]

Don't worry about pH, it's going to do what it's going to do, mostly as a result of what your CO2 levels in your home are. Everything else is a temporary fix with the exception of the skimmer. If you have a high volume skimmer (beckett or downdraft) pulling air from outside that will do a lot of blow off excess CO2. As long as your alk is fine 7-8 dkh, don't worry about pH. It's one of those params that are inherently instable (even on the reefs).

[60Cubed]

i had the same problem with my ph. i couldn't get it above 8.0 after i started running a Ca reactor. even after i started dripping kalk 24/7. then it just fixed itself. now i generally don't go below 8.0 at night so. i agree with everybody. if everything looks good and is growing with good color, just ***itaboudit! it'll work it's way out.

[MammothReefer]

well.. I super glued my skimmer back together..had to use piece of a yogurt cup to patch some wholes up.. (uh..) It works but leaks a little..but...I took a look @ my ph this morning 7.94..

Now the problem is because I put the skimmer in my garage, i had to pull back a flap on of insulation on my sump, and my tank temp tropped 2 degrees @ nite.

[stony_corals]

I wouldn't worry about a 2 degree temp drop....

[MammothReefer]

trying to get everything as stable and consistant as possible, unforuntlenty the highest i can get my temp (without popping a fuse lol) is 78.2..so this morning I woke up and it was 75.7 which in my op is pretty low. I have another 800w heater that i'm gonna try to put in off a diffrent fuse but I will have to put it on a reverse timer w/my lights so I don't pop that breaker ;)

What i'm worried about is we are supposed to drop into the single digits and -0's this up coming week so if i don't get the heat in check..

[Victoria]

When it rains it pours... or snows and gets really cold. Let us know how it goes?? Yea just open a window..LOL

[MammothReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8953517#post8953517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Victoria
When it rains it pours... or snows and gets really cold. Let us know how it goes?? Yea just open a window..LOL


Very true..but hey there is a rainbow @ the end of this storm.. I sucked it up and ordered that skimmer I've been wanting.. Now I just need to figure out how to properly fix the old skimmer so I can at least use it for ozone without melting the yogurt cup pieces I used to patch the holes hahaha.

Once I get the new skimmer in the sump Ill be able to cut the insulation to fit around it and re-seal that sump..

Btw do we get Saturday delivery in Mammoth / Crowley?

[stony_corals]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8953504#post8953504 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MammothReefer
trying to get everything as stable and consistant as possible, unforuntlenty the highest i can get my temp (without popping a fuse lol) is 78.2..so this morning I woke up and it was 75.7 which in my op is pretty low. I have another 800w heater that i'm gonna try to put in off a diffrent fuse but I will have to put it on a reverse timer w/my lights so I don't pop that breaker ;)

What i'm worried about is we are supposed to drop into the single digits and -0's this up coming week so if i don't get the heat in check..

Sure, but you have to remember that on the reefs there is a fair amount of variability in temperatures. If anything, you're on the safe side of the equation, if it got too warm, you'd be concerned about a more real issue, the dissolved oxygen levels fall as the water gets warmer. Stability is good, but when certain params normally fluctuate on the reefs, why worry about them. It sounds like you've got the downside covered with the additional heater for this weekends cooler weather whcih is good, but don't stress about 2.5 degree difference. Now if you were talk a swing from 84 to 86 degree that's a different story :)

[MammothReefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8954823#post8954823 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stony_corals
Sure, but you have to remember that on the reefs there is a fair amount of variability in temperatures. If anything, you're on the safe side of the equation, if it got too warm, you'd be concerned about a more real issue, the dissolved oxygen levels fall as the water gets warmer. Stability is good, but when certain params normally fluctuate on the reefs, why worry about them. It sounds like you've got the downside covered with the additional heater for this weekends cooler weather whcih is good, but don't stress about 2.5 degree difference. Now if you were talk a swing from 84 to 86 degree that's a different story :)

ya, I hear that. I've just (for the first time) been trying to be very picky about my parameters.. and it's really paying off, of all the tanks i've kept in the passed 5-6 years or so this one is by far the most succesfull in terms of visible growth, quickness of coluration, and life expenentinecy..I've only had a couple corlals give me trouble since I set it up *knock on wood*

[klasiksb]

If you can get your pH up, you will enjoy better growth. But getting it there is the problem, and fiddling too much could cause more harm than good. I'd let it be if everything is doing good.

[MammothReefer]

Well I went home @ lunch today and i'm up to a solid 8.. soo moving the now FrankenSkimmer to the garage seems to have worked.. can't wait to see what happens when I get the new skimmer and i'm pulling in 4 times the air.

[ERICinFL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8947583#post8947583 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by murphreef
i also started adding Kalk to my top off water... about 2 teaspons to a 15 gallon container and it rose that top off water to 11.5ph but even with topping off with kalk water it still hasnt healped much

If you're dripping that, you should add at least 30 teaspoons to it. Try that, you may have much better luck.

[Serioussnaps]

thats full saturation....with a CA reactor...can you say ALK swing?

[60Cubed]

i run 2 teaspoons per gallon on my tank with a reactor. my alk didn't swing at all!?! still only get about 8.1 ph though. i was seriously worried about it at first but now i just let it be! everything is looking and growing good so.........!

[reefinmike]

get a controler w/probe, get alk. where it should be and for christs' sakes, get some circuits rewired to 20amp.