Does anyone else have large PH fluctuations during the day, In the early am my PH is 8.23(seems to be the stable low) late afternoon it's between 8.5 to 8.6, I tested both Alk and ca and got DKH 6 and ca 400. What should my concerns be and is there anyway to stabilize this. Up until a few months ago I rarely checked my ph but now with the ACJR. it just stares at me in the face.
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PH fluctuation
- Thread starter sinkingbeach
- Start date
Raise Alk (6 is on the low side) and if you have fuge alternate the light cycle with the main tank, and if you have a Ca reactor, suspend its work during night.
Last week I had also very huge pH shifts (7.6-8.15) and I have found that my Alk dropped to 5 because of my Alk line for automatic dosing of two part solutions got clogged and I was dosing only Ca for almost whole week
The moment I "sloshed in a bucket" of Alk, the pH stabilized around 8.1 (+/i 0.1 on a daily light cycle swing).
Last week I had also very huge pH shifts (7.6-8.15) and I have found that my Alk dropped to 5 because of my Alk line for automatic dosing of two part solutions got clogged and I was dosing only Ca for almost whole week
The moment I "sloshed in a bucket" of Alk, the pH stabilized around 8.1 (+/i 0.1 on a daily light cycle swing).I do not run a CA reactor, I dose two part B-ionic, when I add the the first part part alk it sends my PH through the roof. So how do go about adding the alk part with out pushing the PH higher?
Not that I doubt the acjr - but before implementing any "fix" - might want to double check the reading.
That stated - here's a good article about low ph by dr. randy-h-farley.
Low PH: Causes & Cures
That stated - here's a good article about low ph by dr. randy-h-farley.
Low PH: Causes & Cures
sinkingbeach said:
Split it and add it in smaller doses if possible. Are you dosing it manually? If you dose more then 50ml, dilute it with, lets say, 200-300ml of fresh water (from top off) and let it drip for some time (just like Kalk).
The cheapest automation would be 2 aqualifter pumps (12$ each) and digital timer from HD for 17$, 2 soda bottles and some airtube lines.
While splitting it into smaller doses is a good idea to level the swing, it doesn't solve the primary problem. The ratio of CO2 to Alk is causing PH swings. With a higher CO2 you could have a higher alk and lower PH. With the levels of CO2 currently in your system if you raise your alk your PH is going to go up along with it.
In order to do that you're going to need to increase the CO2 in your system. Lock down the house and breath into the tank?
We had chronically "low" ph riding around 7.9 with the Ca reactor, even with a DKH of 11. After adding a Kalk reactor we've got numbers at 8.1ph and 11dkh. The kalk by itself would cause high DKH & high PH. This combination works really well for us to keep both our PH stable as well as our Alk.
In order to do that you're going to need to increase the CO2 in your system. Lock down the house and breath into the tank?
We had chronically "low" ph riding around 7.9 with the Ca reactor, even with a DKH of 11. After adding a Kalk reactor we've got numbers at 8.1ph and 11dkh. The kalk by itself would cause high DKH & high PH. This combination works really well for us to keep both our PH stable as well as our Alk.
Phyl said:
Then I'll be dealing with heat issues within the tank
sinkingbeach said:
The problem is the "type" of alk supplement you are dosing. You are using the original B-ionic which is Sodium carbonate based. They also have a newer version that is only 1/4 the strength but is Sodium bicarbonate based. It ends up costing you more to use but you won't have the pH problems.
Sodium carbonate has a drastic pH raising affect
Sodium bicarbonate has a pH lowering affect (not as drastic)
Ideally what you'd want is a mixture of about 1 part sodium carbonate and 7 parts sodium bicarbonate. If you mix 7 parts bicarbonate to 1 part carbonate you'll get a solution that will be right about a pH of 8.2. If you were to pickup a couple of bottles of the Sodium bicarbonate (newer version-lower pH) then you could mix this up yourself. Keep in mind you would also want to do the same thing with the calcium side of things ALSO so that you could continue to dose the same amount of each product.
If you were to go out and buy the "B-Ionic Calcium Bicarbonate System" 32oz (16oz each bottle) setup you could then hold on to what you have and use it to mix in with the new stuff you buy. For every 7 Bicarbonate purchases you would need 1 purchase of the original.
Pour the contents of each 16oz bottle of the Bicarbonate system into another container (2 containers) and then add 2.3 oz (2 & 1/3 oz roughly) of your original into each and mix. Then use this new mix.
Sounds complex but not really that hard to do. Keep in mind the new solution you whipped up will be roughly a tad bit more then 1/4 weaker then what you presently use. In other words you will need to use almost 4 times as much.
The advantage to mixing it yourself is that you can figure out what works best for your tank. For example instead of 7 to 1 you may find you like 5 to 1 to keep pH up a bit, but not have the drastic pH changes of the original.
Carlo