ph PROBLEM

[michael chu]

after calibration ph 10.00 and 7.00
my water ph is 7.80

I checked my ph with my red sea kit and marine kit, to make sure what is my ph
and both kit say ph is 8.3~8.4

with my ph monitor on, i added blonic for 2 parts to make ph to 8.3 later on the ph dropped down to 7.99 with in 1~2 hours.

Does anyone know if my ph monitor can't read up to 8.0 - 8.4 or there is another problem?

[ February 13, 2005, 10:52 AM: Message edited by: michael chu ]

 

[bad coffee]

how old is your ph probe? they lose effectiveness after a while. how hard was it to dial in the 10 and the 7? if you can't get them both spot on after a couple of back-and-forths between the solutions, your probe might be no good.

BC

 

[michael chu]

just around 8 month
i bouth diyreef.com

 

[ShaunW]

If it is not the pH probe, and the probe is taking real measurements, check your Magnesium. It might be too low. Sounds like you have bad buffering capability within your tank.

What salt do you use?

 

[MrAnderson]

I'm sure there are other factors, but the first couple that spring to my mind are:

CO2: dissolved CO2 is inversely related to pH. If you have high levels of aeration and/or high CO2 levels in your house then that could be a contributing factor to low pH.

Alkalinity: What do your hardness levels look like? Although this really more prevents the severity of pH swings rather than the pH level itself it may be worth looking into. If your alk drops without being replaced it can lead to pH drops.

If the other two factors are OK, you could try adding some macroalgae to your tank. Photosynthetic consumption of CO2 will raise your pH.

 

[michael chu]

thanks guys

but .............

 

[marrone]

Michael

When you used the Red Sea kit and Marine kit to check the Ph you stook the tube with the water in it. That release the Co2 in the water and gave you a high Ph. The Ph probe sit in the tank and you probably have trap Co2 in the tank.

Try this test, take some water out of the tank and place it in a bucket stake it up some, that should release the Co2 in the water, and then place the Ph probe in the bucket. If you see an increase in Ph on the probe then you have excess Co2 in the tank which in that case you need to add additional water breakage.

Michael

 

[jcurry]

What are you using for an ALK buffer. Sodium BiCarbonate will have a slight Ph lowering effect for a short time until the Ph is able to stabilize again. Also you shouldn't try to control your Ph by adding buffer.

 

[michael chu]

thanks marrone
I'll try tomorrow when i'll get another ph moniter.

jcurry i was using b-lonic two part but when i have problem i start using kalkwasser( 1 mo already)


thanks guys