Chasing PH..... Why or why not?

[Treefer32]

My tank is running well. Algae from the horrid uglies of new tank syndrome is dying off. What doesn't die off the fish are doing a good job of eating. Corals looking amazing, and fish are finally doing amazingly well also in my 350 gallon piece of the ocean. I've been doing weekly 40 gallon water changes since I added some additional rock and additional fish. So, just making sure things stay clean. Will back off to every other week in a month or so.

My question though, is my average ph according to my apex is 8.03. Max has been 8.1 up until yesterday when it hit a peak of 8.3. Yesterday I opened one basement window.... And ph skyrocketed. I live in North Dakota. So, I don't know if it's in my best interest to run a skimmer line outside and pull in sub zero air during the winter. I've also been dosing unbaked baking soda (for alk), which I thought should help raise ph as well. Im dosing a standard 2 part mix of baking soda at about 96 ml a day now. Which is keeping my alk around 8.5. Trying to keep it at 9.0 but I've been adding corals and I think coraline is starting to grow so, it's fluctuating some.

Am I o.k. with maintaining an average 8.03 ph? I noticed on a lot of fish websites marine fish prefer 8.1... Curious if that's just a preference or a requirement for fish to thrive? Corals I understand higher ph is needed to grow skeletons... Which I also want to support? I have mostly LPS and would like to support faster LPS growth.

 

[W1ngz]

From a general health and daily management point of view, really, don't worry about your ph. Anything inside the 7.8 to 8.3 range is fine. With an average of 8.03, your daily swing is probably in the area of 7.9-ish to 8.1

From a coral growth point of view, then yes, higher is better. BRS did an experiment on it a few months ago.

It's up to you to decide where your balance is between 'better' and 'worthwhile'.

Reef Tank pH, benefits of raising saltwater aquarium pH - BRStv Investigates

There is no shortage of research articles about the effects of ocean acidification on coral reefs. Many of them stating that a drop in pH as little as 8.2 to 8.1 are having major impacts on coral growth, larval survivability and the overall health of a wild reef. It only makes sense to assume

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[Treefer32]

In all my years of reefing I've never really chased PH. Interesting! Thanks for the post. Any suggestions on the easiest and most budget friendly form of PH management (and reliable) for a 350 Gallon system? The problem with this hobby is there's overwhelming options!

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Faster hard coral growth is the benefit in the pH 7.8 to 8.5 range. Below 7.8, the concerns become greater and skeletons may even slowly dissolve. Assuming you raise pH properly, the drawbacks to doing do are minimal, possibly just some extra abiotic precipitation of calcium carbonate.

 

[sixty_reefer]

As above if as long as it’s above 7.8 and under 8.5 is no reason to worry, but if there’s a way to keep it up den a change might not be a bad idea. Would rather a higher ph reading to a lower any day.

 

[W1ngz]

In all my years of reefing I've never really chased PH. Interesting! Thanks for the post. Any suggestions on the easiest and most budget friendly form of PH management (and reliable) for a 350 Gallon system? The problem with this hobby is there's overwhelming options!

pH is about managing CO2. Outside air is the cheapest, but, you know, winter is coming.

Budget friendly would probably exclude a CO2 scrubber, but the media gets costly if you just blow away the scrubbed air after it's passed through the skimmer one time. You could try it. People are experimenting with different ways of managing the airflow with Y adapters to mix 1/2 room and 1/2 scrubbed air. Some are feeding the scrubbed air inlet to the top of their skimmer to recycle the already scrubbed air.

The less budget friendly way would be a solenoid valve to an Apex managing the CO2 scrubber line so if the ph drops, the valve opens automatically and closes when it needs to.

 

[Treefer32]

pH is about managing CO2. Outside air is the cheapest, but, you know, winter is coming.

In the words of Game of Thrones: "Winter is coming!" Sadly, but it is.

I have an Apex already (Classic not the new fancy one with all the widgets and gadgets.).

I suppose I'd have to have the breakout box along with the valve, along with a scrubber. I was hoping my Algae scrubber would raise the PH, that may be what's keeping it above 8 during the day... I have a large tank and would like to fuel the growth of the corals I have, vs. buying a ton more coral.

 

[W1ngz]

Depends on the valve I think. I don't use one, or not yet anyway. I think the Neptune valves connect to the 24v port on the FMM, but I'm sure there's other ways to rig it.