PH Problem/ Well Maybe

[tlo]

I have been following this thread as I have the same problem as well. I use "baked" baking soda for kh, but maybe I will try kalk and see if it makes a difference

[BlueTang<3]

Dont mess with it ph probes are recommended changing 6 months to a year and much sooner if exposed to air. I would go with the test kit. My probe ready 7.6 and elos test kit reads 8.3.

[tgrover]

What's an idea pH for soft coral typically?

[PoonTang]

Honestly, unless something in your tank is causing you to think that there is a problem then you don't have a problem. Don't mess with it unless the condition of your livestock would warrant it. Most people here never even bother to check it. Me included, never had a clue what my ph was for over 2 years until I bought a controller that had a ph probe.

[Madreefer]

Thanks guys. I do run a kalk reactor and a calcium reactor. Both the Ca and Kh are both in check and I did'nt want to screw them up. There is nothing that is looking bad but noticed everyones Ph is 8.2. I got the answer that I wanted so I will leave it alone.

[BWI]

We carry the HM Handheld PH probe if you are interested in switching..

[Myka]

Taken from the write up I did called Myka's Guide to Calcium, Alkalinity, Magnesium, pH, and Salinity:

Originally Posted by Myka

Natural seawater has varying levels of pH but is generally between 8.0 and 8.3. pH is the concentration of hydrogen to hydroxide ions in a solution. Do we care about that technical stuff? Not really. Let me explain...

I’m going to just barely touch on pH as it is a bit of a difficult thing to fully understand, and is affected by so many elements and situations that it would only be confusing to try to explain it all. The important part to know is that pH is affected by your alkalinity and magnesium levels, and also greatly affected by the acids produced when organics break down (nitrogen cycle). Another thing to note is that if your house contains certain levels of CO2 (much lower than is poisonous to humans) from you and your pets breathing in it, this can cause the pH to drop in your tank as the CO2 in your house mixes with the aquarium water. CO2 is acidic, this is why it is used to break down the calcium carbonate in calcium reactors. If you find in the winter your tank has a lower pH than in the summer this may be due to you not opening your windows for fresh air in the cold winter months, and having the levels of CO2 build up in your home. High aquarium temperatures also cause the pH to drop.

Many people struggle with low pH in their tank. This is often caused by a large amount of waste breaking down in the aquarium creating acids, or high levels of CO2 in the house (and hence in the aquarium). Low alkalinity can also be a factor, but on its own wouldn’t be the main culprit. Often you can raise your pH just by adding an airstone. The way I see it, is make sure your calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium are at acceptable levels, that your house and tank get plenty of fresh air, that you have a good skimmer and good circulation with powerheads to reduce the amount of waste breakdown in the tank (keep detritus suspended instead of settled), and your pH should gradually stabilize at an acceptable reading over the first 6-12 months the tank is setup. A fluctuating or low pH during the cycling of your tank is normal, and should correct itself after the cycle is finished and you have done a couple waterchanges.

You may notice that your tank has a lower pH early in the morning than last thing in the photo period. That is normal. The organisms in your reef respire, and create CO2 at all times of the day and night. During the photoperiod the reef's organisms are using light energy to process CO2 and water into carbohydrate and oxygen. This process is called photosynthesis. As you know from reading above, as the levels of CO2 increase in the aquarium the pH drops, so when the lights are out, and photosynthesis is not happening there becomes an abundance of CO2 in the aquarium which causes the drop in pH at night. If the swing in pH is rather large, then you can add a refugium/algae chamber to your sump with chaeto, and run the lights on the refugium so they are on when the tank lights are off. Be sure the refugium lights don’t leak too much light into your display tank though.

My take on pH is leave it alone. Unless it is really out of whack, don’t mess with it. It is easy to change, but difficult to keep steady at a level that it doesn’t want to be at. This is one of those times where natural adjustments (fresh air, reducing organics, airstone, etc) is much more beneficial than chemical adjustments. A fluctuating pH level is much more detrimental to a reef than a low or high pH. If it is between 7.6 and 8.4 I say leave it alone, don’t screw with it. It ain’t broken, don’t try to fix it!

By "don't mess/screw with it" I mean, don't alter it directly with chemicals. Take a look at your maintenance, and see if you can reduce the organic breakdown, and ensure fresh air in the house. Also, don't trust pH test kits, they are notoriously inaccurate. pH meters are much more accurate, but as already noted, the probes don't last long. I rarely measure pH, when I do it's mostly just for interests' sake. It really doesn't matter much provided everything else is in check. If it is indeed low, then if you get everything else in check pH will fall into place. You won't be able to hold a steady pH with chemicals without giving it a steady drip, this includes kalk drips. Essentially, both work to mask the problem, they won't fix it.