Need help with PH and Radion light questions?

[ProfitOfDoom]

We bought a used set up in July and been trying to keep it up,and so far so good! We keep up on our water changes and keeping it clean the best we can. We added a few corals and a couple of new fish,I think we are really stressing the limits of this 75 gallon tank,But overall no real problems other than we have a real hard time keeping the PH up. We add Kalkwasser to the top off tank and just add some to keep the ph up, and we even tried to run air lines from outside to the skimmer and didnt see much improvement with the air lines. So I see they have PH dosers,seen this one around... https://medlabequipment.com/product...npQ3Ilpfz2Ug3WHVuC9Y8HemoV53_dQg5caAnCA8P8HAQ

But when we bought the tank set up,it came with a apex system that has a PH and temp probe,8 programmable outlets,,I tried to look but didnt really see anything to hook into the apex,,Can anyone show me something that would work with the apex unit? Or do I have to buy that separate unit?

My last problem was algae,we seemed to be getting alot of algae growth on rocks,but we noticed alot of our snails was killed off by the hermits,So we bought more that we ever have before,,We now have close to 20 snails,and the LFS guy said shut off my reds and green..Also we had the intensity set at 83% he said that was too high,,we moved it down for 60% but just bumped it up to 65% and we chose a preset and gets the highest light for almost 8 hrs. What do you think would be a good preset or intensity for our two radions xr15's? Thanks!

 

[mcarroll]

I would unhook the pH probe for now.

If you don't have basic calcium, magnesium and alkalinity test kits, get them.

Dose kalkwasser if you want (there are options), but do so based on your alkalinity or calcium test kit. Pick one....alkalinity may be best as the test is the most sensitive....you may occasionally have to add a separate calcium addition.

Likewise, I would get a light meter and stop guessing at what to set your lights at. "xx%" is sort of meaningless. You can get a lux meter app for your smartphone for free to get you started. "galactica luxmeter" for IOS, for example. Something like the handheld "LX-1010B" lux meter would be much better, safer to use around saltwater, and usually costs less than $15, delivered.

Let us know what you get for readings!

 

[tomtom2245]

What is your pH sitting at that you think is too low?

 

[justingraham]

And show the picture of ur apex so we can help u hook that up as well

 

[ProfitOfDoom]

I do have a set of Salifert Testing kits,have all the basics,but I do not have a magnesium. I'll do a test tomorrow as we just did a water change today,But normally we struggle to stay between the 8.0-8.4. But at night it drops around to 7.60-7.75. Then through out the day it rises to around 7.90 and we usually have to give it a shot of kalkwasser to hit around the 8.0 mark. I'll compare reading,but we did calibrate our probe to make sure it was good and it was spot on.

I have this apex unit..... http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_viewi...maluDkRF8nFXGF7Hyliwb8WJGDAKShXNFEaAtPQ8P8HAQ

Thanks for the tip on the lux meter,I'll download one and give it a shot!

 

[tomtom2245]

So the thing with pH is natural seawater is in the 7.5-8.4ish range so your numbers aren't out of the norm. Typically home aquariums run on the higher end of that range but it is not necessary. If your tank is happy in that range and you keep that stable, there is nothing wrong with the pH in your tank.