High PH

Robink · Mar 24, 2018

Just so you know, I had the same problem with Seneye. There was usually a starfish or some other critter on the card. Take it out and clean it. That should work.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 24, 2018

Danh Ngo said:
@Randy Holmes-Farley Alk is at 9.7
Ph swing between 8.34 - 8.5 between day and night that is what I get. I will recheck with a quality ph test kit. But for now any idea? [emoji1]

First of all, that pH is fine, whether it is real or not, and no action is needed. My tank had pH 8.30 - 8.55 for years when I was using limewater.

If that pH was real, aeration will bring it down. If aeration does not bring it down, it is probably erroneous.

mitch91175 · Mar 24, 2018

Danh Ngo said:
thank you for the info, I see at lot of reefer keep their Alk at around 7.7 as your case is 7.5. Are there any benefit for keeping that low

I notice better colors in my coral when I lowered my ALK in the 7 range personally. I think it is more about stability than anything. Also about to switch my salt to LiveAquaria mix because the parameters are not far off from what I want to keep. Was using Red Sea coral pro then switched to Reef Crystals for a few months but do not like the high ALK and don’t want to lower it using muratic acid so switching to LiveAquaria to see how that goes.

lbacha · Mar 24, 2018

I just pushed mine to 8.47 today due to running my fuge light during the day I was going to add a high ph cutoff but forgot to my apex. I doubt it's a big deal other than I'm sure my CO2 levels in the tank were a lot lower than normal.

mitch91175 · Mar 24, 2018

I also added T5 supplement around the same time so I wanted to lower my ALK with all of the extra light and so far so good.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 25, 2018

Danh Ngo said:
thank you for the info, I see at lot of reefer keep their Alk at around 7.7 as your case is 7.5. Are there any benefit for keeping that low

Higher alk leads to faster hard coral growth. It may also help many photosynthetic organisms by providing a ready supply of CO2 via bicarbonate. It can also lead to generally higher pH, which most often is desirable in a reef aquarium in a home.

The main problem with high alk and low nutrients is burnt tips on SPS corals, possibly because the skeleton grows faster than the tissue, leaving very thin tissue at the tips, more prone to damage by intense light and physical effects.

The problem with high nutrients is often more potential for algae growth (if it is not limited by something else) and possible darkening of corals due to high zoox levels.

So there is no generally perfect solution, and what you do with respect to alkalinity depends on your goals.

mitch91175 · Mar 25, 2018

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Higher alk leads to faster hard coral growth. It may also help many photosynthetic organisms by providing a ready supply of CO2 via bicarbonate. It can also lead to generally higher pH, which most often is desirable in a reef aquarium in a home.

The main problem with high alk and low nutrients is burnt tips on SPS corals, possibly because the skeleton grows faster than the tissue, leaving very thin tissue at the tips, more prone to damage by intense light and physical effects.

The problem with high nutrients is often more potential for algae growth (if it is not limited by something else) and possible darkening of corals due to high zoox levels.

So there is no generally perfect solution, and what you do with respect to alkalinity depends on your goals.

So essentially a slippery slope.