Running an apex and following my graphs for ph I'm fluctuating from 7.8-8.0 on a normal day without dosing. ill add 100 ml which brings it up to 8.4 and it will drop back down to 8.0 within a few hours. My calcium is about 440-460 mag is a almost off the charts. Dkh 8.4 these are off hand numbers from a test last week. Nitrates and phosphates are 0. I alternate my lighting in sump and display tank. What are if any negative effects of adding to much soda ash over a long period of time to keep the ph where i want it. Also I'm running instant ocean reef crystals which is said to have higher mg.
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Chasing my ph
- Thread starter Rwc
- Start date
I say throw out your pH probe. Your pH is fine. 7.8 is on the low end, but still acceptable. Probably that low because the house is closed up and you have a bit of CO2 built up in the house/tank. Also, you don't want to add soda ash (sodium carbonate) to adjust pH....you want to add it to adjust dKH (alkalinity), pH will take care of itself. How frequently do you dose?
As far as stabilizing your alk, I would recommend dosing daily. How much does your alk number drop in a week? SPS does not like alk swings. The more stable you can keep your alk number the better off you will be.
What is your pH buffer?
dnov99
FRAG SWAP VENDOR
This is great advice!! I haven't known what my system PH has been for years. Just keep your ALK steady and balanced and everything else will fall into place...
"Two Part" is alk and calc.
I need to take a step back and ask:
How big is your tank?
What kind of corals do you have or is it FO/FOWLR?
What test kits do you use to measure Alk, Calc and Mag?
If it is a reef tank with lps/sps, it will be consuming alk and calc daily. I don't understand that your tank's alk number is hardly changing for a week unless you only have softies or it's FO or FOWLR.
I need to take a step back and ask:
How big is your tank?
What kind of corals do you have or is it FO/FOWLR?
What test kits do you use to measure Alk, Calc and Mag?
If it is a reef tank with lps/sps, it will be consuming alk and calc daily. I don't understand that your tank's alk number is hardly changing for a week unless you only have softies or it's FO or FOWLR.
To my understanding, dosing like that will not pull pH uphill and against the momentum/chemistry of the tank. IMO you'll need to bring in Oxygen from outdoors (if not doing so already) and that should get you up to 8.1 or so at the low point of the day. Dosing won't compensate more than briefly/temporarily for too much CO2 in the water.
90 gallon with 40 gallon sump. Test nitrite nitrates phosphate calc alk mag . Mostly lps just started getting into sps only a few softys , only a few small fish so not much of a bio load. I do 15 gallon water change about every other week. I have incredible growth in the tank. About 180 pounds of live rock
Any oxygen you're getting into the house is being drafted thru the stove. We heat with wood also and have the same thing. But most folks' systems, whether they burn wood or not need to tube in fresh outside air to their venturi skimmer tube to raise pH in Winter when windows are shut, otherwise it will hang between 7.7 and 7.9 at the mid point.
Any time of year the house is closed up due to weather your going to have elevated levels of CO2 in the household atmosphere causing your pH to drop a bit. Your numbers are fine; I wouldn't chase them, as long as your Ca and Alk are within acceptable ranges. I would not use a pH buffer, since ultimately once your system reaches equilibrium with the atmosphere again, the pH will go back to where it was, and your alkalinity will remain elevated. As has been mentioned, you can run an air line to an outside source to bring in air with lower levels of CO2 (if practicable). You could also add a CO2 scrubber to the intake of your skimmer, which would mean running the air going into the skimmer through a container with some Soda Lime. Using kalk in your top off will also utilize some of the CO2 in your system, but you would want to adjust your dosing to compensate for the additional Ca and Alk it will add.
Ok funny topic and very good timing for me. I have always wanted to maintain my pH to be at least 8.2. Even though I know anything higher than 7.8 is acceptable it just is something I wanted to do. No matter what I did with my ALK it would always drop within a day. Didn't matter the time of the year. Opening a window always helped.
Now the funny thing. I have a ceiling fan in the room where my tank is. I used to keep the fan on high, to keep the hot humid air moving out of the room. I turn the fan down to its lowest setting and my pH crept up and up. I have not done any dosing for pH in months, my ALK is the same it was with the fan on big, but my pH is reading 8.34. The other best way i have heard to get pH stable was to get a fresh air line on the air intake of the protein skimmer.
Just figured i would share.
Now the funny thing. I have a ceiling fan in the room where my tank is. I used to keep the fan on high, to keep the hot humid air moving out of the room. I turn the fan down to its lowest setting and my pH crept up and up. I have not done any dosing for pH in months, my ALK is the same it was with the fan on big, but my pH is reading 8.34. The other best way i have heard to get pH stable was to get a fresh air line on the air intake of the protein skimmer.
Just figured i would share.