Good investment

[po]

I was down at the lfs today getting some things and I saw the PH probes and figured what the heck, I'll buy one. I got home, hooked it up, calibrated it and put it in the tank.

Right off the bat it reads 7.8! For the last month since my tank's been up every test reading I've taken has read 8.2-8.4. Boy were those test kits off!

I know the probe is accurate because I calibrated it between the two fluids a total of 5 times each.

Now I have a little more piece of mind.

 

Anyone who has thought of picking up a probe should do so, It's a good investment.

 

By the way, over how long a period should I slowly raise the PH?

[printerdown01]

Be careful probes can be inaccurate as well.... However, if you bought a decent probe it will be more accrate than testing powders... I used to use one when I worked in a water treatment lab (tap water, not the stuff that comes from the toilet!), and loved it... It took a few seconds to get the correct reading and then presto I had an EXTREAMLY accurate reading!

 

I want one for my tank!! How much was it? Where did you get it? What brand it is? Can it be left in the tank, or does it have to sit in a buffer solution?? How often should it be calibrated (if it does get left in the tank)? *pH, salanity, and temp are the only things I measure in my tank.... So I'm going to try and "go high tech" and get a digital thermometer and a pH probe... They use to sell them at 2 of my LFSs and ironically I was informed just today that they no longer carry the pH probes... So I would be very interested in your response!!

[po]

I got it at That pet place in Lancaster, PA. It's a Pinpoint, It was 80 bucks. I plan on calibrating it every couple of weeks.

I just have it in my sump now, I plan on keeping it in there 24/7, I'll clean it every week when I do a water change.

[Physh1]

Word of advice on probes:

 

There are generally 2 "types" found. A standard and a lab grade. The standard is usually good for 6 months before it can start reading wrong and the lab hrade are around a year. Calibration is best once per month.

 

I would not recommend running the probes much longer than the above stated times. They can mislead you also.

 

Cameron

[printerdown01]

The one that we use to have in the lab was a few years old an EXTREMELY accurate! It sat in a buffer solution so that ions were not pulled out of the probe, and was calibrated every morning. I know the thing was expensive... I certainly don't need something that accurate... Our powder test kits are not that great, to be honest with you...