pH management in an SPS tank

[StarF]

7.7 is a bit to low in my opinion, i would try and do something to get it up.. Mabye look into making a co2 scrubber!

 

[dzhuo]

I would bet that most of the people with a regular pH reading below 7.7 would be running a calcium reactor.

I think 7.7 is alright but 7.4 is pretty low and I honestly haven't heard anyone running pH this low chronically.

 

[sirreal63]

Back when I lived in St Louis, my tank typically ran in the mid 7's and at times below, and it drove me crazy. The sps and lps and softies did not seem to care unless I tried to buffer it up which caused alk spikes. I doubt that the actual ph is 7.4, but if it is, it has not killed his tank. PH probes are not always correct, even when freshly calibrated. Since I moved back to Texas my ph stays around 8, with the CaRx running.

I do agree with letting more fresh air in and dripping kalk. A CO2 scrubber would help, if CO2 is the only culprit. It is pretty easy to test for that. The lower alk seems more possible to the low ph, coupled with a closed home in winter and the CO2, it makes perfect sense for the ph to be lower than normal.

 

[MammothReefer]

Ya I'm in the same boat as sirreal. My ph hovers around 7.75-8.05 or so. I know when I see it out of that range some is off/changed. I don't bother chasing ph in any way what so over I only look at it as an indicator for change in my system. Also in the winter my ph is always lower, my house is a cave.

 

[blakers82]

I'm running a CaRX and drip kalk heavily. I'm happy to reach a pH of 7.9. My tank invariably dips below a pH of 7.8 which has bugged me for quite some time, but I'm learning to live with it. Of course many home reefs have problems at 8.3. You have to remember that there are many factors that go into a healthy aquarium. Above all, I'm learning that stability leads to maturity.

 

[Chyendra]

Thanks for all the advice guys!

I hope my ph probe is fairly acurate, It's brand new and I just calibrated it with brand new ph7 & ph10 solutions.

I think I will start slowly raising my alk and monitor my corals for any burnt tips. Hopefully, this may boast my ph slightly as well. I will also put my fuge on a reverse photoperiod. My skimmer doesn't have an air intake where I could hook up a CO2 scrubber, but maybe I won't have such a low ph come spring when we can actually leave the windows open.

I think I will just monitor my ph for a while and see how much it fluxuates and give my SPS some time to adjust to my new bulb and recent changes. Hopefully they will settle in and begin to color up.

 

[dixiedog]

You know, I have a confession to make: two years into reefing, and I've never tested my pH. Okay, there, I said it.

But I like the idea of outside air for the skimmer. I'm trailer trash so I can drill right through my floor and make it happen.

 

[Chyendra]

Hey All! Thanks for you comments and advice! I want to share a small update.

I decided to raise my Alk to 10 dkh and I started dosing saturated Kalk at night with my RKL. My dosing timer is set to add a few ml of kalk every 15 minutes, during the time period that my lights are off at night through the morning, which amounts to about 1/3gal per day. I'm still tweaking it slightly to keep my Alk stable, but lately it's been falling between 9.6 and 10.9 dkh, (I'm hopeing to narrow that range).

I also took the glass lid off the tank to allow better oxygen exchange.

the good news is that my Ph is higher and more stable!! It seems to fall no lower than 7.94 at night and no higher than 8.05 during the day, though often it's between 7.96-8.01.

It's still to early to tell how my SPS are reacting to the change, but my blue stag is finally starting to turn blue again! It actually has blue tips and a green base. The other SPS remain brown for the most part, but a few are getting a hint of green.

 

[BADGUS]

My ph has been in the 7.57-7.63 range for the past few weeks now,doing kalk top-off,no changes.So i dont know what's going on.

 

[Chyendra]

Is your tank in the basement? or a room with no windows?

Excess carbon dioxide in the room will push your ph lower. I notice when my family comes to visit and sleeps in the room with my aquarium that the ph gets super low. Also durring the summer when I can leave the windows open, the ph stays in the nice 8.1-8.2 range.

 

[SPSEMPIRE]

My ph has been in the 7.57-7.63 range for the past few weeks now,doing kalk top-off,no changes.So i dont know what's going on.

Make sure that you stir the kalk several times a day. This is the #1 benefit of running a kalk reactor vs just adding kalk to the ATO container or using a drip bucket.

FWIW, my mixing pump runs for 10 minutes every 3 hours.

 

[allsps40]

I just got my RKL & pH probe set-up on my 45 gallon mixed reef. I'm working on stabilizing my parameters hoping to improve my SPS color and growth.

After calibrating my pH probe, I discoverd my pH is running between 7.96 -7.99 throughout the day. It dropped last night after I changed my GFO and it got as low as 7.85 early this morning. I know this is really low, so I'm wondering what steps I should start taking to boost & stabilize my pH.

I'm trying to keep my alk at 8 dkh since I'm dosing vodka, and even though I'm dosing BRS recipe 2 (soda ash) for my alk first thing in the morning, my daily dose (10ml) only raises the ph about 0.1.

I'm thinking my tank needs more oxygen, but it's still winter here in wisconsin, so I won't be opening any windows until late april.

I run a fuge with a 24/7 photoperiod.

So now I'm thinking whether or not I should start dosing kalk, and how much. I'm concerned about my ability to keep a stable ph while dosing kalk, and I'm wondering if having a low, stable pH would be better than a high, unstable ph.

Thoughts? suggestions?

I have the same setup as you, RKL with Ph probe. It is very nice to have it confirmed my liquid test readings. I had low Ph also was hard to get it above 8.0. I dose kalk with my ATO and now my ph ranges from 7.9 at night to 8.2 day.

 

[dvanacker]

I've never measured my pH. I know that if disolved oxygen is high and alkalinity is right.....pH will be fine.

Note that I use sodium carbonate for alkalinity, so no CO2 added with a calcium reactor....also my home has lots of fresh air with an HRV.

 

[LifeAquatic]

I dont even bother chasing a PH number.