Low Ph - How concerned should I be?

[R33fDaddy]

I got the Apex EL last weekend and via the Ph Probe I discovered that I'm hovering around 7.4 - 7.6. How bad is this? Do I need to go get a CO2 Scrubber tomorrow? Lol

Alkalinity 12, Calcium 490ppm, Magnesium 1410, Nitrates 6ppm, Phosphates 0.03ppm

 

[wculver]

That number long term won't yield good results but it's not yet an ambulance chaser if those numbers are correct.

Question: Have you did some ground truthing on the pH to ensure the probe is working properly? Usually there are two or three calibration fluids so you know the probe is working properly for a full range of pH. Perhaps you also have quite a few people that live in your house? I watch mine closely and unless I'm having a party with a dozen or more people the pH doesn't drop below 8.0.

Also, if you get to putting in a scruber make sure it also has an actuator and set this for a range of 8.3-8.4. Otherwise it has the ability to get too high which can also be detrimental.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I got the Apex EL last weekend and via the Ph Probe I discovered that I'm hovering around 7.4 - 7.6. How bad is this? Do I need to go get a CO2 Scrubber tomorrow? Lol

Alkalinity 12, Calcium 490ppm, Magnesium 1410, Nitrates 6ppm, Phosphates 0.03ppm

I’d check the calibration with different buffers

 

[LeeLoo Lola]

I’m unfortunately in the same boat.

 

[R33fDaddy]

That number long term won't yield good results but it's not yet an ambulance chaser if those numbers are correct.

Question: Have you did some ground truthing on the pH to ensure the probe is working properly? Usually there are two or three calibration fluids so you know the probe is working properly for a full range of pH. Perhaps you also have quite a few people that live in your house? I watch mine closely and unless I'm having a party with a dozen or more people the pH doesn't drop below 8.0.

Also, if you get to putting in a scruber make sure it also has an actuator and set this for a range of 8.3-8.4. Otherwise it has the ability to get too high which can also be detrimental.

I calibrated it Today with 7 and 10 calibration fluid. The readings was the same after calibration. I opened the windows for two days this week and it did up to 7.7 for a little bit, but I lived in Florida so open windows in the summer is not an option. Will a Scrubber take me from where I'm at now all the way up to 8.0?

 

[gbroadbridge]

my scrubber gives me 0.3 after it’s been running a while.

do you have another ph test just to double check?

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I calibrated it Today with 7 and 10 calibration fluid. The readings was the same after calibration. I opened the windows for two days this week and it did up to 7.7 for a little bit, but I lived in Florida so open windows in the summer is not an option. Will a Scrubber take me from where I'm at now all the way up to 8.0?

Ive had issues calibrating from my phone that wasn’t saving the new numbers and had to use my pc then it worked

 

[wculver]

I calibrated it Today with 7 and 10 calibration fluid. The readings was the same after calibration. I opened the windows for two days this week and it did up to 7.7 for a little bit, but I lived in Florida so open windows in the summer is not an option. Will a Scrubber take me from where I'm at now all the way up to 8.0?

Well I haven't asked how old this tank is. The more mature and more coral you have the better this number gets because you process the CO2 quicker. I'm not a fan of additional maintenance tasks, there are plenty others you'll end up adding in the future that are far more fruitful to manage. Ultimately I would suggest chaeto in a refugium and patience as the tank matures.

That said, the scrubber will push the number too high eventually so ultimately you end up needing a pH probe and a controller of sorts to turn an actuator valve on and off. So on at 8 and off at 8.2, something like that. If you have the option you can also use outside air and escape the elevated indoor CO2.

 

[R33fDaddy]

my scrubber gives me 0.3 after it’s been running a while.

do you have another ph test just to double check?

The Neptune stuff is so expensive that I was hoping to be able to rely on it. I guess I can get an API test kit or something just to compare.

 

[52728299]

The Neptune stuff is so expensive that I was hoping to be ae to rely on it. I guess I can get an API test kit or something just to compare.

I just had a similar experience a couple days ago. Turned out my probe was giving lower than actual results. Got a test kit from petsmart where you add the drops in the vial of water and the reading on that was a solid 8.1 rather than the 7.6 my probe gave me.

 

[R33fDaddy]

Well I haven't asked how old this tank is. The more mature and more coral you have the better this number gets because you process the CO2 quicker. I'm not a fan of additional maintenance tasks, there are plenty others you'll end up adding in the future that are far more fruitful to manage. Ultimately I would suggest chaeto in a refugium and patience as the tank matures.

That said, the scrubber will push the number too high eventually so ultimately you end up needing a pH probe and a controller of sorts to turn an actuator valve on and off. So on at 8 and off at 8.2, something like that. If you have the option you can also use outside air and escape the elevated indoor CO2.

The tank is is 748 days old. Most of corals do well except for my goniopora (which thus could be the issue). I don't want add extra maintenance but I do want my corals to have the best environment to grow. My Nitrates and Phosphates are under control so maybe I can have the skimmer turn on and off to try mange the Ph levels if I get a scrubber. I already have a algae scrubber so I think a refugium would be overkill.

 

[Celestion]

pH experts need to check-in , under 8.0 is not good period ,

 

[aurora.k]

748 days old.

Lol, love that! Clearly it’s your baby.

 

[52728299]

pH experts need to check-in , under 8.0 is not good period ,

Baking soda?

 

[Celestion]

Lol no

 

[gbroadbridge]

The Neptune stuff is so expensive that I was hoping to be able to rely on it. I guess I can get an API test kit or something just to compare.

I've had bad probes out of a box, but I doubt that's the issue.
Bad calibration buffers are much more likely, and there have been quite a few reports of that.

In any case it is quite unlikely your pH is that low. Try taking a sample of tank water outside, aerate it with an airstone and pump for an hour, and then remeasure using the pH probe giving it a few minutes to stabilize.

If it measures low something is either wrong with the probe or the calibration.
You can also try soaking the probe in pH 7 buffer overnight, rinsing it with DI water, and then recalibrate again.

 

[ZoWhat]

All pH probes should be recalibrate every 3mos using lab grade calibration fluid

 

[damsels are not mean]

First of all, you should never ever think that a result on a brand new test you haven't done before is grounds for a big change to your tank. If your tank looks good and has for a while and then you start testing something and the result looks weird, your first thought should not be "I better fix this" because you can simply have error in testing and you don't want to make drastic changes to solve problems that aren't even problems.

 

[KonradTO]

I was watching a BRS video on the effect of low (7.8) pH on corals and they mentioned various peer reviewed papers that describe the effect of acidification on coral growth and survival. It seems that many are underestimaring the severity of the problem. If you get 7.6 pH in summer I think you will have serious issues in winter (assuming you live in the northern hemisphere)

 

[Doctorgori]

I have a few pH probes and they can vary a lil regardless. Also if the readings are out of range then perhaps tear open another calibration packet. Pinpoint probes are around $40 but I’ve found their portable unit which comes with a probe is about $90 and well worth it as a backup/checksum thing