Low pH help (tried everything I can think of)

[ac4570]

Hi everyone!
I know this is asked a ton and there’s loads of information but I can’t seem to raise my pH so any help would be greatly appreciated. Currently my apex is giving me a maximum pH of 7.9 during the day and minimum of 7.6 at night.
I have a 22G rimless tank with a 15G sump. I’m running a skimmer and CO2 scrubber in the air intake, a refugium, and have a good amount of aeration from the intakes.
current parameters:
Calcium: 445
Alk: 10.4
Mag: 1290
Phosphate: 0.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nítrate: 5
Does anyone know of anything I can be missing that can be causing this issue. Thanks

 

[SCiMMiA]

Hi everyone!
I know this is asked a ton and there’s loads of information but I can’t seem to raise my pH so any help would be greatly appreciated. Currently my apex is giving me a maximum pH of 7.9 during the day and minimum of 7.6 at night.
I have a 22G rimless tank with a 15G sump. I’m running a skimmer and CO2 scrubber in the air intake, a refugium, and have a good amount of aeration from the intakes.
current parameters:
Calcium: 445
Alk: 10.4
Mag: 1290
Phosphate: 0.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nítrate: 5
Does anyone know of anything I can be missing that can be causing this issue. Thanks

Wrong pH probe or over 2000ppm co2 in your house.

 

[HuduVudu]

Hi everyone!
I know this is asked a ton and there’s loads of information but I can’t seem to raise my pH so any help would be greatly appreciated. Currently my apex is giving me a maximum pH of 7.9 during the day and minimum of 7.6 at night.
I have a 22G rimless tank with a 15G sump. I’m running a skimmer and CO2 scrubber in the air intake, a refugium, and have a good amount of aeration from the intakes.
current parameters:
Calcium: 445
Alk: 10.4
Mag: 1290
Phosphate: 0.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nítrate: 5
Does anyone know of anything I can be missing that can be causing this issue. Thanks

Are you running a Calcium Reactor?

 

[ac4570]

Are you running a Calcium Reactor?

I am not. Currently dosing tropic Marin carbo-calcium

 

[ac4570]

Wrong pH probe or over 2000ppm co2 in your house.

Hmm interesting. I am using the ph probe that came with the apex el. Currently waiting on calibration solution to be delivered just to make sure even though I calibrated it about 5 weeks ago when I bought the apex. I put a window ac unit in my room to bring in more air while also surviving the 90+ summer days lol (the tank is in my bedroom by the way so that’s not great but I’ve had the same drops at night when I’m not home)

 

[SCiMMiA]

Hmm interesting. I am using the ph probe that came with the apex el. Currently waiting on calibration solution to be delivered just to make sure even though I calibrated it about 5 weeks ago when I bought the apex. I put a window ac unit in my room to bring in more air while also surviving the 90+ summer days lol (the tank is in my bedroom by the way so that’s not great but I’ve had the same drops at night when I’m not home)

Do you have an air input on your AC or is it just recirculating the same air ?

I would say in a bedroom it's the WORST place for co2 accumulation especially during the night.

But if you have some air exchange from outside, it should be ok.

 

[HuduVudu]

@ac4570 How many fish do you have? and how much do you feed?

Also try this ... take a sample of your tank water and aerate it over night and then test the PH and the Alk of the sample.

You can also use a Kalkwasser drip to help get the PH back up.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

I would bet my left eye it’s an out of calibration probe. Verify the 7.6 with a standard test kit

 

[ac4570]

Do you have an air input on your AC or is it just recirculating the same air ?

I would say in a bedroom it's the WORST place for co2 accumulation especially during the night.

But if you have some air exchange from outside, it should be ok.

It’s a window unit with the air coming from outside. I bought it with hopes that it would help bring more fresh air into the room, especially during the night. And yeah I’d agree the bedroom was a bad idea, but I noticed during nights away I still have the same issues. Thanks for the reply!

 

[ac4570]

@ac4570 How many fish do you have? and how much do you feed?

Also try this ... take a sample of your tank water and aerate it over night and then test the PH and the Alk of the sample.

You can also use a Kalkwasser drip to help get the PH back up.

Currently a clown, 2 firefish, and a scooter blenny. I was feeding once a day, fairly lightly, but was getting 0 phosphates and nitrates (API test kit, but I just switched to salifert). So I started twice a day about 2 weeks ago. I’ll give the aeration a try as well. Thanks for the reply!

 

[ac4570]

I would bet my left eye it’s an out of calibration probe. Verify the 7.6 with a standard test kit

Gonna recalibrate the apex probe once I get the solution and I’ll pick up a kit tomorrow. I might cry if I went through all this trouble over the past month or so over bad calibration lol :/

 

[SCiMMiA]

It’s a window unit with the air coming from outside. I bought it with hopes that it would help bring more fresh air into the room, especially during the night. And yeah I’d agree the bedroom was a bad idea, but I noticed during nights away I still have the same issues. Thanks for the reply!

Well, if the AC is getting fresh air from outside, then the probe must be showing wrong numbers.

The only other culprit could be something acid that is getting (or dosed) in the tank.
I am not sure but I am guessing that it would need to be a lot of acid to shift the pH that much.


I'm thinking about this... if it was a co2 problem, your co2 scrubber should be exausted very fast (just a guess).



Really... it must be the calibration of the probe.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

5 weeks ago for calibration is long enough that I wouldn't agonize over it until you recalibrate.

In the meantime you can do this aeration test whent he ph is very low. If the pH does not rise a lot (above 8.0) then it is likely a calibration issue.

pH And The Reef Aquarium
http://www.reefedition.com/ph-and-the-reef-aquarium/


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.

 

[NeonRabbit221B]

Gonna recalibrate the apex probe once I get the solution and I’ll pick up a kit tomorrow. I might cry if I went through all this trouble over the past month or so over bad calibration lol :/

It happens buddy! You can test the probe in a known pH solution. Went through this mess a month ago myself.

 

[proxy001]

Apex created as much anxiety in the reefing community as COVID.
It's like day trading but for fish.
I am in the same boat as OP. #apexanxiety.
OP: tell yourself without an apex you wouldn't know. If PH is really OFF or if it is really a problem, corals will tell you.
With that said, my Ph is 7.8/8.1, like you , Florida summer...

 

[ac4570]

Welp I hate to admit it but after trying everything I could over these past weeks it turns out you all were right about my probe being out of calibration. Ph is currently at 8.2 (was reading 7.7 at this time yesterday) Definitely a learning experience about double checking these probes. Thanks to everyone for all the help and recommendations! This really is a great community!

 

[proxy001]

Welp I hate to admit it but after trying everything I could over these past weeks it turns out you all were right about my probe being out of calibration. Ph is currently at 8.2 (was reading 7.7 at this time yesterday) Definitely a learning experience about double checking these probes. Thanks to everyone for all the help and recommendations! This really is a great community!

Well, I just did that too. went from 8.08 to 8.18. Last calibration was one month ago
How often are we supposed to calibrate that thing !!!

 

[ac4570]

Well, I just did that too. went from 8.08 to 8.18. Last calibration was one month ago
How often are we supposed to calibrate that thing !!!

I think I’ll start manually testing ph every week or 2 just to make sure this doesn’t happen again. Happy to know I’m not only one though lol