Daily Ph issue

[wanna-B-like-yours]

Hi everyone!
I seem to have trouble raising ph and keeping it constant…. My parameters seem to be in order but ph drops overnight…
What can I do? And suggestions please?
Tank 200l +50 sump
Just added colour changing co2 scrubbing media for skimmer
20% biweekly changes (using reef crystals)
Ph 7.9 (back to 8 with reef buffer - would love to get to 8.2/3)
Alk 10.2
Ca 450
Mg 1440
Nh3 no2 0
No3 15
Sg1025
Temp 25.3c
2 clowns a gobie 3 chromis and 12 frags

 

[Nano_Man]

If my understanding of ph it does rises and fall.
Other members will give you good advice when they chime in
.

 

[Icryhard]

pH around 8 is normal and you don't want it much higher than 8.3 if I am not mistaken. What is your surface agitation like? This helps in a higher pH due to the exchanged gasses. a drop to 7.8 at the evening would be pretty normal too from all the LFS and people I've spoken to so far.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

pH does rise and fall, due to photosynthesis and respiration removing and adding CO2, and buffers are never a good way to deal with pH issues because they boost alk too much.

If the pH is above 7.8 then its not critical to raise it, but if you want to there are many ways, including using very high pH alk additives when you need alk, more fresh air in the room, CO2 scrubbers, growing macroalgae, skimmer air line to outside, etc.

 

[jda]

If you are sure that your pH checker is accurate and calibrated and you want to worry about pH, then the most important thing that you can do is to get the air inside of your home/office/basement below 550-600 ppm of co2. The closer to 400, the better.

co2 meters are cheap on Amazon and if you have high pH, then the fresh air will benefit more than just you. I type this a lot and a guy sent me a PM that he was over 1800 in his closed up house and his headaches immediately went away after he bought a meter for his fish tank.

pH is usually highest right before lights out and the lowest before the lights come on.

Running a fuge on a reverse light cycle is also a good way to boost the pH.

 

[wanna-B-like-yours]

pH around 8 is normal and you don't want it much higher than 8.3 if I am not mistaken. What is your surface agitation like? This helps in a higher pH due to the exchanged gasses. a drop to 7.8 at the evening would be pretty normal too from all the LFS and people I've spoken to so far.

Hi.. I think I have too much flow…
2 x 1500lph returns
2 hydor 2kl power heads and a tmc 6000 wavemaker
Both returns agitate the surface and so does one of the hydors

 

[wanna-B-like-yours]

pH does rise and fall, due to photosynthesis and respiration removing and adding CO2, and buffers are never a good way to deal with pH issues because they boost alk too much.

If the pH is above 7.8 then its not critical to raise it, but if you want to there are many ways, including using very high pH alk additives when you need alk, more fresh air in the room, CO2 scrubbers, growing macroalgae, skimmer air line to outside, etc.

Maybe I read too many forums … lol
So my skimmer is connected to a canister with co2 scrubbing pellets
I have add some cheato to the sump
The door is open most of the time for fresh air and I had the skimmer hose outside too…
My alk has never gone above 11 and my ca and mg seem stable at 450 and 1350..
So a bit stumped…..

 

[wanna-B-like-yours]

If you are sure that your pH checker is accurate and calibrated and you want to worry about pH, then the most important thing that you can do is to get the air inside of your home/office/basement below 550-600 ppm of co2. The closer to 400, the better.

co2 meters are cheap on Amazon and if you have high pH, then the fresh air will benefit more than just you. I type this a lot and a guy sent me a PM that he was over 1800 in his closed up house and his headaches immediately went away after he bought a meter for his fish tank.

pH is usually highest right before lights out and the lowest before the lights come on.

Running a fuge on a reverse light cycle is also a good way to boost the pH

 

[wanna-B-like-yours]

Thanks! I’ve just ordered a co2 meter..

 

[vanguard]

Thanks! I’ve just ordered a co2 meter..

Which one did you get? I tried to pick a winner and got a bit lost in all the options.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Maybe your pH measurement is not accurate.

try this aeration test using both inside and outside air:

pH and the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION

by Randy Holmes-Farley For many aquarists, pH is not something that they have much experience with aside from their aquarium. For many, pH is almost a black box measurement: something to be considered, but whose physical meaning makes little sense to them. This article will Read more here...

www.reefedition.com

The Aeration Test

Some of the possible causes of low pH listed above require an effort to diagnose. Problems 3 and 4 are quite common, and here is a way to distinguish them. Remove a cup of tank water and measure its pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. Its pH should rise if it is unusually low for the measured alkalinity (Figure 2). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If its pH also rises, then the aquarium’s pH will rise simply with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise in the cup (or rises very little) when aerating with indoor air, then that air likely contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should). Be careful implementing this test if the outside aeration test results in a large temperature change (more than 5°C or 10°F), because such changes alone impact pH measurements.

 

[GARRIGA]

ATS and refugium the path I'm taking as I struggle with CO2 from a crowded house. Testing a diy ATS as we speak. Although main build will be most likely a refugium since that draws all it's co2 from the water vs an ATS which by it's nature is more efficient because it draws much of it's co2 from air and as named. Refuge for pods and such.

Both need to be sized to the problem which means it's easier to start with more than needed and reduce light intensity, duration or increase how often the ATS is scraped or Fuge is pruned. See to many posts where either method is dismissed and often because what is being used either too small or not enough light.

 

[jda]

All of the co2 meters in the $50 range have batteries that barely last a day. I keep mine plugged into usb C all of the time. They are accurate enough to let you know that 450 is less than 1000, but if you want dead-on-balls accurate, then you all have to spend several hundred or more.