Acceptable pH swings

[jcreefer]

Hi everyone,

 

Now that I have the Apex setup on the new tank, I've been monitoring pH. While it is a new tank, the live rock is from an established tank. It is undergoing a small cycle as I can see minor diatom outbreak. In any case, my pH swing is around 7.65-7.86. It's on the low end and I've been trying to bring in fresh air by opening windows. I'm not aiming for a specific point as long as it's within the 7.7-8.2 range. What is an acceptable swing within a 24 hr period? I'm using RSCP salt to 1.025 sg.

 

Jeff

[krusing93]

So... Ph has to do with the overall chemistry of your tank, I am no expert but the idea is that you want a pretty constant Ph especially over the course of such a short period of time. This hobby is about slow changes and keeping the rapid "Shock" type changes to a minimum because unfortunately our friends (corals, fish, inverts, and anemones) do not have the luxury of putting clothes on or taking them off... So yes your Ph swing is a cause for concern but the whole fresh air thing in my opinion is kinda over rated and will just cause more swings in my opinion. Test your magnesium, alk, and calcium and make sure you keep them in check. But if your tank is brand new things are going to be constantly changing and you should have probably held off on the CuC in my opinion. As you have seen I have said in my opinion 1000 times and thats all this is but take it for what you want and just focus on keeping things steady. Good luck!

[markalot]

Sorry, PH swings are perfectly acceptable and normal. 7.7 is a little low, 7.8 would be better but it's a struggle in our closed up homes. I vary from 7.8ish to 8.3 every day without issue. Using Kalk to dose Alk and Calcium helps but you have to be careful and start very slowly.

 

Best just make sure it's in a fairly safe range and stop worrying about it. I bet you;ve had success since 2004 NOT measuring PH.

 

As par as parameters, KH is what you want to focus on. Pick a number and try to make it as stable as possible.

[jcreefer]

Sorry, PH swings are perfectly acceptable and normal. 7.7 is a little low, 7.8 would be better but it's a struggle in our closed up homes. I vary from 7.8ish to 8.3 every day without issue. Using Kalk to dose Alk and Calcium helps but you have to be careful and start very slowly.

 

Best just make sure it's in a fairly safe range and stop worrying about it. I bet you;ve had success since 2004 NOT measuring PH.

 

As par as parameters, KH is what you want to focus on. Pick a number and try to make it as stable as possible.

 

 

Good to know. I knew about the pH swings, and run a reverse photoperiod on a refugium for my BC29, but without testing the pH on a regular basis, I was just surprised by the amount of swing and the timing of the swing. Coincidentally, the pH is directly correlates to my lighting period. Since I've finally come out of the stone ages the Apex simply allowed me to visualize the swing.

I am not aiming for a specific pH target, I do know Alk, more than anything else really determines the stability of a thriving tank. And yes, I never looked at pH ever since 2004

This being a new tank, the pH swing will likely continue quite sometime, but I'm hoping it settles at a point higher than 7.7 sooner than later.

-Jeff