svirid Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 Good day guys, I have recently tested my pH with the test kit and it showed me about 7.8, right after that I have bought American Pinpoint digital pH meter, to keep an eye on water condition. I read that they are pretty good. After I set it up I have seeing huge jumps in pH of my water. When the light is on it goes up to 8.12. When light is off after an hour it drops to 8, and in the morning I see about 7.8. Can anybody explain to me what is happening, I thought it should be stable number, low but stable. I wanted to dose some reef buffer to increase pH but It looks like if I dose it calculating form 7.8 it might go to 8.6 when the light is on. About my tank: its 28gal reef tank, 150w MH, skimmer, external filter (only holds Rowa and Purigen). Also the light is on at 14:00 and of at 21:00, can it be the problem? Thank you very much for your help. Link to comment
zemuss Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 PH swings are normal and happen as you explained it. Do a search on this site and you will find your answer. FOSI explains it a lot better than I. But from what I know it is partially how much CO2 is in your home and the O2 level in the water that also contributes to this. "Z" Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 PH swings are normal and happen as you explained it. Do a search on this site and you will find your answer. FOSI explains it a lot better than I. But from what I know it is partially how much CO2 is in your home and the O2 level in the water that also contributes to this. "Z" Oxygen doesn't really contribute to pH, but CO2 definitely does. During the day, CO2 is consumed during photosynthesis in various organisms. This is done at a rate that exceeds CO2 production, hence the rise in pH. When the lights go out, photosynthesis halts. All organisms respire 24/7, so when photosynthesis shuts down, there is nothing but CO2 production through respiration. The lights click back on later and CO2 is again assimilate and pH rises. This is the primary reason you see the pH swings. There can be other minor contributors, but this makes the bulk of it. Depending on how much buffer you need, it shouldn't raise the pH that much. You could always balance out what you add with a bit of baking soda, which will lower pH very slightly and help you get to the alkalinity you want. Also, higher alkalinity will resist upward changes in pH, in addition to downward ones (actually more effective in the former). Do not use buffers to toggle pH, though. There are better and safer ways to control it a bit more, which includes kalkwasser, divided 2 part doses (depending), aeration/exchange, and photosynthesis. Link to comment
nano427 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 IMO a ph swing of 7.8 to 8.1 is not big at all. I wouldn't even think twice about it. But if it does bother you there are a few things you can do. You could do a refugium with a reverse light cycle. You could simply open a window near the tank. Or kalk should help stabilize it. Link to comment
svirid Posted March 10, 2010 Author Share Posted March 10, 2010 Hi guys, thanks for your replies. pH does not bother me much, the problem is that I wanted to increase my Alk and Ca a little thats why I wanted to start dosing and maybe later purchase Ca Reactor. But I was afraid of this jump in ph, but if its ok I am glad. I wanted to dose reef buffer the one I have now by Seachem, but as its not suggested I will probably by ESV b-ionic product. I remember used to dose it long time ago and it had a very good impact. I made a mistake at that time by dosing only one part (alk), and had a drop in Ca, so I stoped. Is that a good product ESV or maybe u know a better once. Thank you Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 B-Ionic is a fine product, as are pretty much ever other 2 part solutions on the market. You can also make your own as seen here: http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php#3 I also agree that 7.8-8.1 is perfectly acceptable--both in variance and range. Link to comment
lakshwadeep Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 ESV is a reliable brand, and b-ionic is a very good 2 part. What corals/clams are in the tank? You shouldn't need to dose Ca/alk unless there is a significant usage that is not being replenished with regular water changes. Link to comment
zemuss Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Yea I know Amphiron i forgot the C in the second part of my sentence. Was in a meeting at work. Link to comment
Amphiprion1 Posted March 11, 2010 Share Posted March 11, 2010 Yea I know Amphiron i forgot the C in the second part of my sentence. Was in a meeting at work. It's all good. I kinda figured it was a typo. I just wanted to clarify for the OP. Link to comment
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