Whoa... low ph (new question)

F

Frogspawn

Now that I've installed my new sump I also put in my PH probe and calibrated it about 30 minutes ago.

Tri told me the test kits showed high but I didn't think it would be THAT far off!
I've been running my PH (according to the kit) at around 8.4 with the assumtion that it was a bit high on the test but actually lower in the tank.

NO KIDDING! After calibration my PH probe is showing 7.78! yikes!!

I'm so glad to have that probe installed now. Am I just color blind or are all these dang kits extremely fallible? I got an alk kit recently that showed a completely different color spectrum than what was on the card so I threw it away and used the brand I was familiar with and it was okay.

How can you ever be a successful reefer if the layman tests are so bad.
Jeeez
 
While there might be 'target' ranges for a lot of parameters, keeping things steady is a lot more important- you can actually cause problems by quickly changing levels to get them into the 'good range'.

Stability is key.
 
I've never trusted a pH test kit, they are never accurate. If you ever see the pH reach 8.3 in your tank, run - do not walk - run to your test kit and see if you can get that 8.3 color from it. I'm willing to bet you won't.

I tried and was disappointed; I'd love to hear from someone that had a better experience.
 
Never have had an accurate pH test kit in my life.... Probes I have had good luck with though. Assuming the calibration fluids are correct etc etc.
 
The AP PH kit is the worst. Impossible to match the color on the card. Also, the last three Ammonia kits I've bought, the cards all show different shades of yellow for 0 ammonia. I think you would be better off just sticking your finger in and giving it the old Taste Test.
 
So now that I can see PH at a glance I am understanding the effects of lighting a bit more. Even though I bumped up my PH to 8.3 with a kalk drip yesterday, at night time it dropped to 7.8. Is this an acceptable variance?

I'm preparing to install a fuge light for macro growth and I see many people run that light at night. Will this offset the fluctuation enough? What bulb would be required for the fuge' which is 15"w X 22"h X 12"d?

Thanks
 
Eric,

Glad to hear you have a pH monitor. Well worth the investment. I usually have a light turn on during the night. This help prevent a huge drop in the pH.

From time to time, if you are using a battery operated pH Monitor, I recommend that you change it out often since it does affect the monitor and you may get inaccurate reading.

You may want to drip during the night time to keep your pH up. 7.8 is low. I try to keep mine at 8.0.
 
What do you guys think about the placement of the PH probe? Do you think it would read the same if it was placed in the display instead of the sump? I'm just wondering because we're talking about such a small difference in range of PH readings.
 
That is an interesting question.. I don't know the volatility of ph, and how long it takes to drop in the presence / absence of light.

If I had a ph meter that I could move from tank to sump, I'd try it, see what the difference is.
 
You could just run two PH meters for the test on the AC3.
One in the sump and one in the display and get a graph side by side.
 
I have a pinpoint PH meter which I've calibrated twice. But I use Salifert pH test kit for back up. The last couple days the pH has been dropping. At night the meter says it's like 7.78 and day time is only 8.04. But Salifert test is saying it's 8.0 when the Pinpoint reads 7.78... and Salifert is about 8.2 when Pinpoint says 8.04. I keep the probe in the main tank. But I've also placed it in the refugium with not much change. Tonight because the readings are so low I plan to turn the refugium light on all night (I turned it off earlier around 3). I found previously it does help to keep the pH up about 7.9 through the night using the meter. When calibrating I use 7.0 and 10.0 but it took the longest time to get the 7.0 to quit jumping around and I kept going back and forth between the two making adjustments as needed. So since it's fairly new I'm not sure which one to trust...Salifert test or Pinpoint. I just ordered my Magnesium test kit but Alk is 11 and Calcium was 420.
 
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