Keeping PH at steady levels

[Montaquelaveist]

Hello fellow reefers been long time but i need some help I'm having trouble with my PH it constantly drops to below 8.2 where i like to keep it my Alk varies between 8.3 at its high and 8.0 at its low i am dosing Vodka also. So my question is how can i get my PH to stay at 8.2 it drops very low and i have it hooked up to my reef keep lite and the probe gets calibrated once every 2 months for accuracy the last reading was 7.7 i need help my friends i feel this is having an adverse affect on my corals what could i do to correct this problem and using an air stone didn't work it actually made the PH drop even lower so i removed it from the sump so looking for sound advice please please please thanks in advance

 

[lrasser]

Your chasing a ghost. Anything over 7.8 is fine. Mine runs 7.8 - 8.1 daily. I'd be thrilled to get the numbers you have.

 

[duke62]

7.8 to 8.3 is fine. You don't need steady ph numbers.

 

[duromega]

what time are you dosing vodka?

 

[JBNY]

Higher alk will help you maintain more consistent pH levels. Not everyone wants higher alk, but if you keep your alk at 10-14 dKh you will probably see your pH fluctuate less.

If you want higher pH I would tell you to dose Kalk at night.

 

[Clink51]

refugium help with the late night PH dips. maybe something like that can help

 

[Boomer]

Leave your pH alone it us fine. That pH drop is from CO2 and CO2 could care less what your Alk is. No matter what your Alk is, when CO2 enters the water or accumulates the pH will drop period. If you had your windows opened so the CO2 could leave the room you will not see that drop.

 

[Montaquelaveist]

what time are you dosing vodka?

i have it on on a loser and it doses in the morning

 

[vio]

Leave your pH alone it us fine. That pH drop is from CO2 and CO2 could care less what your Alk is. No matter what your Alk is, when CO2 enters the water or accumulates the pH will drop period. If you had your windows opened so the CO2 could leave the room you will not see that drop.

+1, Is all about CO2, NOT sure how important is the steady PH, but I go back on my doser, now I got 7.96 PH at night and 8.06 PH day, I also dose Kalka (18 hrs. 1.1 ml/min.) I use fans and fresh air from outside (24/7) inside the shop, my CO2 is 435 to 500 ppm inside the shop, depend how many ppl. hang around, I really don't like the idea to introduce more CO2 by using the Calcium Reactor, list for now. The reason I still have low PH is because I like low Alk. (7.5 to 8 Dkh) I may try to increase the Kalka. then I may got 9 Dkh and higher PH, but NOT sure if I need that.

 

[Montaquelaveist]

I'm just looking to keep it steady around 8.1 all day i know it will drop during the night but during the day it was dropping very low but i have it steady it seems now i changed the dosing on my bubble magnus a friend showed me that i was doing it wrong but since I've changed it my Ph is steady at 8.1 during the day hours and about 7.96 at night as for the CO2 i have all the windows open and no one is really in the house all day and its just me don't think i let loose that much gas lmao lmao but thanks guys i will keep posted

 

[Loose tenticle]

I leave my fuge light on at night to raise my ph a bit, during the day its around 8.3 and at night maybe 8.1 or 8.2

 

[Montaquelaveist]

so I've gotten it to stay about 8.1 all day even at night by dosing more evenly though out the day also i noticed that once i turned my chiller on and my temp lowered to 76 where i tend to keep my tanks the PH went up is that normal

 

[JBNY]

What are you trying to achieve with keeping the pH steady at 8.1?

 

[Mattl22]

I never worry about my ph long as it's in neighborhood I use cal reactor once it's dialed in it the only way to go for a lg tank IMO
I also dose kalk every hr using a doser through my apex

 

[Montaquelaveist]

What are you trying to achieve with keeping the pH steady at 8.1?

just trying to keep the swings under control they were dropping too low at night but now they are more steady since i adjusted how the tank is getting dosed

i use my bubble magnus to dose my Alk every 3hrs.

 

[debbythefowler]

if the animal life is thriving, don't get wrapped around the axle on numbers. When I first got a PH probe and could see the changes, I had to restrain myself - saying 'it's been like this you just didn't know it' - and reminding myself that the animals are happy!

debby

 

[Montaquelaveist]

if the animal life is thriving, don't get wrapped around the axle on numbers. When I first got a PH probe and could see the changes, I had to restrain myself - saying 'it's been like this you just didn't know it' - and reminding myself that the animals are happy!

debby

i agree but i did notice that ever since I've been keeping my ph around 8-8.2 all the time everything seems much more happy it was a matter of playing with the loser and increasing the amount of times per day it was dosing

 

[debbythefowler]

most importantly, how are your corals doing? I agree with whomever said you were chasing a ghost. chase animal health - not numbers. If the corals are thriving then don't sweat the ##'s so much.