What Is Your ORP?

malx

Active member
My tank is officially three months old and my ORP is 460. Some say that's kind of high, but my tank is probably still settling and I won't have a final number yet, so at this point I'm just looking for large spikes within a day or two and not within a week or two.

I understand what ORP is
I understand not to try to manipulate it.

Question is, who else here monitors ORP? What are your numbers? Why do you track it and what range do you track?

Thanks!
Joey
 
It's of minimal value to track unless you are running ozone. No one really fully understands what drives the numbers. That said mine typically runs between 422 and 428.
 
It's of minimal value to track unless you are running ozone. No one really fully understands what drives the numbers. That said mine typically runs between 422 and 428.

I'm not running Ozone. I am running at Ca Reactor with CO2 but that shouldn't matter.
 
The real answer to your question, and not trying to be flippant, who cares. There is no standardand every tank is different. Tracking it can help you get a heads up if something is going wrong. Go to the Chemistry Forum and do some research.
 
Mine bounces around. I'm carbon dosing and I noticed that it bounces more then it did before I started. 200 to 500 range.
 
Geez I swear I learn something new everyday in this hobby

Yeah, but this is something you probably don't need to learn. I've got 4 tanks and have been in the hobby for 12 years and I have never once measured ORP. It's kind of like chasing pH. It is what it is. BTW, I haven't tested pH for several years either.
 
Yeah, but this is something you probably don't need to learn. I've got 4 tanks and have been in the hobby for 12 years and I have never once measured ORP. It's kind of like chasing pH. It is what it is. BTW, I haven't tested pH for several years either.

x2 I personally see no need to measure either ORP or PH. The only time I checked PH on my current tank was when I first set it up in Feb of 2015. I was curious more than anything.
 
I know that Chasing pH can cause big problems. I used to think I had an air exchange pH issue then I realized that it was a bad probe giving bad info. The only things that I actively monitor now are KH, CA, Nitrate, Mg, temp. I passively monitor ORP and PH since the controller monitors it anyway. They are more of an indicator of other possible issues if you get abnormal reading. Just my humble opinion. It also doesn't hurt to have additional information. Just don't read too much into it. If I see something out of whack then I will look into it further. Even with something like temp, I have multiple temp measuring devices so I can double check readings before taking any action.
 
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