Low PH....miffed?

[hhholds]

I have been struggling with low PH and wide PH swings. From 8am to 6pm the PH gradually increases to its max of 8.1~8.2. PH will then start to decrease to as low as 7.75 by the next morning.

current parameters;
Alk 9.5
Cal 450
NO3 0
Mg 1400+
Salinity 33.3-33.5
Temp 78-79

I have used kalk in top off water but recently switched to 2 part (manual dosing). I have also tried using a product called "Balance" by Aquavitro. It raises PH for about a half hour but then same condition. I am miffed? Any help or advice would be appreciated

 

[James72]

start a macroalgae refugium on reverse photoperiod with an airpump bubbling through.

 

[hhholds]

Yes i currently run a refugium with macro algae on a reverse photoperiod from the display

 

[AdamNC]

Stop breathing all that Co2 in the house is doing it.

But no seriously, if your able to open a window or 2 just and inch to let fresh O2 in. Or if your able to run your skimmer air intake to the outside it would help. I've tried everything except a Co2 scrubber. The only thing that really seems to work naturally is fresh air. Todays homes are more air tight than older ones and don't allow easy exchange of fresh air through old windows and gaps in doors. The only downside is the A/C bill may be a tad higher.

 

[beaslbob]

daily pH swings are normal and occur in the wild as well. IMHO the just before lights out is the important thing.

my .02

 

[James72]

For me is 1hour before lights on is important. Often i pick up the lowest pH value at that time.

Refugium lights, the volume and the flow is important too, You want that par to.be powerful enough to grow algaes fast, consume the co2 & bring back high ph water back to your main tank.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have been struggling with low PH and wide PH swings. From 8am to 6pm the PH gradually increases to its max of 8.1~8.2. PH will then start to decrease to as low as 7.75 by the next morning.

current parameters;
Alk 9.5
Cal 450
NO3 0
Mg 1400+
Salinity 33.3-33.5
Temp 78-79

I have used kalk in top off water but recently switched to 2 part (manual dosing). I have also tried using a product called "Balance" by Aquavitro. It raises PH for about a half hour but then same condition. I am miffed? Any help or advice would be appreciated

A low of pH 7.8 is fairly common,. That doesn't mean it is optimal, but it means that reef tanks operate just fine in this range. Don't agonize over the 7.75.

 

[Branespikin]

I range 7.5-7.9. Rarely hit 8. No problems in my tank. I dont chase PH anymore. Growth is insane. Healthy as can be. Keep everything else in check. Just fine man. Im LPS so if SPS is different i dont know. Look at ur coral. How they react with changes you do and you will see what they like and dont like. Mine dont mind low PH. I see they react on Alk, temp and calcium. I keep that stable and dont touch things much and everything looking good

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I range 7.5-7.9. Rarely hit 8. No problems in my tank. I dont chase PH anymore. Growth is insane. Healthy as can be. Keep everything else in check. Just fine man. Im LPS so if SPS is different i dont know. Look at ur coral. How they react with changes you do and you will see what they like and dont like. Mine dont mind low PH. I see they react on Alk, temp and calcium. I keep that stable and dont touch things much and everything looking good

I'm not disputing your tank doing great, but at pH 7.5 and at normal seawater alkalinity, the coral skeletons can very slowly dissolve.

 

[Branespikin]

I'm not disputing your tank doing great, but at pH 7.5 and at normal seawater alkalinity, the coral skeletons can very slowly dissolve.

I keep Alkalinity at around 8 ish. I have tried everything to get it up and nothing. I think my only option will be tube from skimmer to outside air. It hits low at 7.5 but average is 7.8

 

[hhholds]

Thanks for all the comments and advice. I am goin to try an airstone in the refugium to see if that will help. Ultimately I would like to see it at or near 8.3.

 

[hhholds]

UPDATE:
I have added two small airpumps/airstones to my refugium and since doing this my PH has decreased to 8 during the day, 7.7 during the evening and swinging as low as 7.5 early morning before rising back to 7.8 around 11am. Still miffed....

8-13-17 test results
Alk-9.7
Cal-420
Nitrate-5ppm
PO4-0
Ammonia-0
temp-78.8
PH-7.71 (dosed alk and PH spiked to 8.09)

 

[Centerline]

UPDATE:
I have added two small airpumps/airstones to my refugium and since doing this my PH has decreased to 8 during the day, 7.7 during the evening and swinging as low as 7.5 early morning before rising back to 7.8 around 11am. Still miffed....

8-13-17 test results
Alk-9.7
Cal-420
Nitrate-5ppm
PO4-0
Ammonia-0
temp-78.8
PH-7.71 (dosed alk and PH spiked to 8.09)

May want to try a C02 scrubber. I was having the exact same issues. C02 scrubber and dosing alk during the lows largely straightened the issues out.

 

[Grey Guy]

I thought my PH was too low (below 7.8 at times and never up to 8 without additives). Kept trying to raise it up, which only caused more problems, and very high alkalinity. I calibrated my PH probe several times, even got a new one. When I finally tested with test kit, my tank read somewhere over 8.2. I figured a way to skew the calibration so that my PH probe reads more accurately.

 

[hhholds]

I have also re-calibrated probe several times...not sure i would agree with skewing results from probe...I would think the probe would be more reliable than the reagent test...? I will do a comparison to see. I wouldn't be concerned with a relatively stable PH around 7.7-7.9 but corals and RBT are showing signs of stress and I feel it is due to prolonged exposure to low PH. I have also noticed that DI resin is being exhausted very quickly and getting about 4ppm TDS output water and 125ppm out of the membrane. May have something to do with it. I went ahead and changed pre-filters but that didnt change anything.

 

[Grey Guy]

Because my Alkalinity was over 15 DKH and my Ph was under 7.8, I figured something is not reading right. As far as the RO/DI. I just bought some DI resin in bulk and packed it really tight. Now it's lasting 2 or 3 times as long.

 

[Grey Guy]

Update: I just realized my RO membrane is not working and there also lies the problem.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I thought my PH was too low (below 7.8 at times and never up to 8 without additives). Kept trying to raise it up, which only caused more problems, and very high alkalinity. I calibrated my PH probe several times, even got a new one. When I finally tested with test kit, my tank read somewhere over 8.2. I figured a way to skew the calibration so that my PH probe reads more accurately.

You concluded the pH meter was inaccurate because a kit read higher?

 

[Grey Guy]

I read somewhere that I shouldn't trust the sensors, but should use test kits to verify there accuracy. Is there a better way?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I read somewhere that I shouldn't trust the sensors, but should use test kits to verify there accuracy. Is there a better way?

Don't take advice from that person or site. lol

The exact opposite is true, IMO. You can calibrate and check a pH meter with any number of different brand standard solutions. You can neither calibrate nor check a pH kit. Some may not even be made for seawater, and they may change their accuracy as they get old.