beaslbob
2500 Club Member
I give up on questions.
Here is my experience tho.
all my tanks including fw planted with peat moss in the substrate (as well a my old 55g mixed reef) had pH that measured 8.4-8.8 with the api high range test kit.
Why?
Because the plant life was making the tank a net consumer of carbon dioxide and producer of oxygen every 24 hour period.
(Just for reference the FW planted tank had no mechanical circulation of any kind).
I did find that in the mixed reef with low alk the pH did drop to 7.9 or lower just before lights on. But that drop seemed to my much less when I kept up alk with the diy 2 part. (alk was just baking soda).
Dispite those high FW pH readings fish the supposedly needed a ph of 7 or less did just fine and lived for years.
To to me what is important is always measure pH just before light out. In that way you determine if the carbon dioxide is being fully consumed by any plant life.
After all it is hardly harmful from what I hear for livestock to be in a low carbon dioxide high oxygen environment. Regardless of how high the pH is.
my .02
Here is my experience tho.
all my tanks including fw planted with peat moss in the substrate (as well a my old 55g mixed reef) had pH that measured 8.4-8.8 with the api high range test kit.
Why?
Because the plant life was making the tank a net consumer of carbon dioxide and producer of oxygen every 24 hour period.
(Just for reference the FW planted tank had no mechanical circulation of any kind).
I did find that in the mixed reef with low alk the pH did drop to 7.9 or lower just before lights on. But that drop seemed to my much less when I kept up alk with the diy 2 part. (alk was just baking soda).
Dispite those high FW pH readings fish the supposedly needed a ph of 7 or less did just fine and lived for years.
To to me what is important is always measure pH just before light out. In that way you determine if the carbon dioxide is being fully consumed by any plant life.
After all it is hardly harmful from what I hear for livestock to be in a low carbon dioxide high oxygen environment. Regardless of how high the pH is.
my .02
Last edited:
