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Some parameter problems

MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
I decided to test my Nitrate / Phosphate and PH as its been awhile.

Nitrate - 25ppm
Phos - 0.03ppm
PH -7.6

Not sure why PH dropped from 8 to 7.7.
Phosphate looks good.
Nitrates have me concerned.

I did realize three fish are MIA - Rabbit fish 2.5", Naso tang 3" and an Engineer goby 4". If they are dead I assume this caused nitrate spike and started running Purigen as I need to make water for a water change. Between the two hope to get this under 20ppm this week.

Still unclear why PH dropped. Any ideas?
 
J

john90009

NJRC Member
What time of the day did you check. My ph goes from 7.7 to 8.3 . 7.7 right before the lights turn on and then 8.3 at the end of my light cycle.
 
amado

amado

Dal
Staff member
Board of Directors
NJRC Member
You should always test ph in the afternoon.
it goes down at night. I would tell you to dose some kalk it will help get your ph up.
 
H

horseplay

NJRC Member
Where's you alk at? ph dropping from 8 to 7.7 is normal within a one day period. If you tested multiple days at the same time and ph drops it could be co2 in the house.
 
R

Rueric

NJRC Member
Folks here are right, your ph will drop until lights turn on and tank wakes up
Also, make sure your ph probes/meter is calibrated
 
E

eholceker

NJRC Member
Rueric said:
Why not? Lots of people go through a lot of trouble to maintain a stable and elevated ph. Some people swear by it
Click to expand...
Unless you can change the oxygen saturation levels in your house you just end up chasing numbers. Yes higher PH may lead to faster sps growth but so does stable parameters.
 
J

john90009

NJRC Member
My biocube keeps a ph that at max hits 8.0 and that tank grows sps fast. That tank always has the windows closed and always two people breathing so it’s very co2 rich. I wouldn’t worry to much about the ph. As long as there’s good surface agitation and flow it should be okay. If my corals stop growing or the fuge lights are off my ph also stays lower.
 
R

Rjmul

PH might be the most important parameter we can test. There's a few problems with it though... I don't trust these PH probes any more than I trust the government. Secondly, I went through six months of effort trying to raise the PH. depending on your living situation, it becomes ridiculous. I gave up. Next system will have some sort of air exchange unit in the room.
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Today opened office window and porch to get more fresh air in. Secondly, ordered a new ceiling fan. I broke the one I had trying o clean something and drop a rag in it which broke a plastic blade.
 
R

Rjmul

MadReefer said:
Today opened office window and porch to get more fresh air in. Secondly, ordered a new ceiling fan. I broke the one I had trying o clean something and drop a rag in it which broke a plastic blade.
Click to expand...
Both of those will help. I've had my windows open for a couple weeks and though I don't have a PH probe on my tank any more, I've been having a really hard time maintaining alkalinity.
As far as your nitrates I wouldn't sweat it. I'm more curious what happened to the fish

how'd the frag handle the trip ?
 
MadReefer

MadReefer

Staff member
NJRC Member
Moderator
Rjmul said:
Both of those will help. I've had my windows open for a couple weeks and though I don't have a PH probe on my tank any more, I've been having a really hard time maintaining alkalinity.
As far as your nitrates I wouldn't sweat it. I'm more curious what happened to the fish

how'd the frag handle the trip ?
Click to expand...
Frag did fine.
 
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