peterk Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Hope this is not too dumb... My LFS guy told me not to worry about pH reading over 8.4, he said "the higher the better", just make sure it is not lower than 8. Well, while I have read and heard that low pH is something to watch out for in a reef tank, does high pH also harm the tank? I mean, 8.6-8.8? Thanks a lot. Link to comment
bamann345 Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Wow, I never heard of that......8.8 area seems a little high....I try and keep mine at 8.3. Seachem makes some products that keeps the pH at 8.3 even if you overdose...... Just my 2 cents Link to comment
Physh1 Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 Hmmm....kinda strange advice. 8.4 isn't anything to worry about. I've seen swings in my tanks from 8.0 to 8.5 and there are no problems. If it ever it gets to 8.8 there may be a chemistry problem. With proper calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium levels your shouldn't have any problems. Cameron Link to comment
Brooklyn Johnny Posted May 21, 2003 Share Posted May 21, 2003 You will get different recommendations from different people, including experts. In Anthony Calfo's book of Coral Propogation he recommends a pH between 8.4 and 8.6, whereas the general concensus you'll see is around 8.2 to 8.4. My opinion... I have a pH monitor on my nano and so follow it closely. I shoot for between 8.0 and 8.4. It has dropped to 7.8 in the past at night before I used kalk, and one time went up to 8.7 when I accidentally left it dripping. Whatever it was it has never caused problems. I try and keep it as stable as possible. I kind of feel the same way about it as I do on temperature. You could successfully keep a tank long term at 84 degrees or at 8.4-8.6 pH, but there is less room for error. ERRORS COME TO ALL. An example in my case is when I left the kalk dripping one day. If my pH was kep at 8.5 normally this mistake would have put it over 9 probably. Who's to say where a problem would result? On a recent trip to Hawaii my father told me my tank when up to 85 degrees when he forgot to turn the fan on over the fuge. If I was keeping my tank at 84 the temp would have spiked further. I'm going on a bit, but I think you get my point that you should shoot for a stable midrange IMO to allow error (which will inevitably come), even though you can be successful at higher and lower ranges... HTH Johnny Link to comment
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