PH help and question

[niloc16]

i am assuming i know what is happening and just wanted some of your opinions. by the end of the day my ph is 8.2 and by morning the ph is 7.6 - 7.7. i am assuming its because i have had to really increase my calcium reactor effluent. i'm not really comfortable with this amount of jump in ph. is this bad? what would help this, a kalk reactor?

[PzReefer]

Ok i can think of a few things.

First, is your alk low if so this could cause the larger fluctuation in pH. with your Ca Reactor are you hitting your target for Ca or is it higher, and is your effluent drip rate turned up to hit a magic number for Ca+ if so turn it down to about 60-80 ml per min to start.

Second maybe your effluent pH is too low i started at 6.5 when i first started my Ca reactor and had similar spikes in pH downward when lights off. Now I use 6.65 for my reactor target with much less swing in pH.


thirdly if you have a fuge have the lights on the fuge on when display lights are off.

PS if you are trying to increase CA+ make sure of your MG levels. My system is fairly stable at 440-450 Ca and 1300-1350 Mg 9.5-10 Alk pH 8.12-8.26
I also dose C-balance to supplement Ca,Mg,Alk daily but dose very little. 30 ml of A and B each day on 120 gallons.

[marie]

I had the same problem when I had to crank up my calcium reactor, even when I dosed kalk at night.
I fixed it by unplugging the probe that was monitoring the display tank (what I don't know won't hurt me ).

I did keep a very careful check on all the tanks inhabitants but nothing seemed unduly stressed so I quit worrying about it

[marie]

Originally Posted by PzReefer

Second maybe your effluent pH is too low i started at 6.5 when i first started my Ca reactor and had similar spikes in pH downward when lights off. Now I use 6.65 for my reactor target with much less swing in pH.

A ph of 6.65 worked for me when I started with the reactor but when the growth switched into high gear I had to drop the ph down to 6.5 just to keep up with the calcium demand

[Snappy]

Colin to help maintain my PH level I run a "cheato chamber" on a reverse photo period and I aerate my R/O top off water

[niloc16]

thanks guys. my alk is at a constant 8, i have been fighting mg for awhile to get it up its always at around 1180 i do not dose for it i just run zeomag in my reactor. i'm thinking i should start dosing though. i dont have a refugium either. what is a good quality mg to dose

[PzReefer]

I like Seachem's Reef Advantage Mag dissolves easily into you RO/DI topoff water and i also have Zeomag in Ca reactor too

[untamed]

Unless your Ca is running really high, I think you need to increase the output of your reactor a bit. Low Alk allows for a larger daily pH swing. (Isn't the definition of Alkalinity the resistance to pH swing? - buffering?)

If your reactor is already running at 6.5, increase the flow a tiny bit.

Measure the Alk right before your lights come on. That should be it's lowest level point and will give you a good idea of how low it's going.

Yes, you could add a Kalk reactor...and run it only at night. The trick there is that it is your Ca/Alk levels that determine how much Kalk you can add. You probably can't add enough to make any difference to that cycle unless you turn off your Ca Reactor.

The bottom line is that the cycle you describe is pretty normal...especially for a Ca Reactor system with no refugium. Don't do anything too radical to try to fix it.

[PzReefer]

I like Seachem's Reef Advantage Mag dissolves easily into you RO/DI topoff water , not too expensive.

[wickedfrags]

Generally speaking pH is not concern for most reefers, although many feel it is. A range of 7.8-8.3 is not uncommon. That being said - the key as you mentioned is reducing the fluctuation day-night as much as possible.

Easiest thing you can do as mentioned above is add some macro algae in a refugium and have it on a reverse daylight schedule (say from midnight to 9am) to help control the pH swing. Do not run the refugium light 24/7.

I tried dripping kalc, and found that is was tough to keep my dKH where I wanted it, not to say it is not effective for some. Try some macro in the fuge and see what your fluctuation is. Cheers.