PH between 8.5-8.7

[SeeFu]

My PH swings between 8.5-8.7 naturally. I am not dosing anything to the tank yet. Is this a concern that I need to be addressed or can I just leave it alone? I've calibrated my neptune sensor twice and both times it shows the same PH range afterwards.

My Alk for the last week started at 9.7 dkh and over a 5 day period dropped to 8.7. During that period my PH swing remained the same.

 

[Shirak]

Seems very high and I wonder if it's calibrated correctly.. I would test it and stick it in a packet of pH 7 and then pH 10 solution to see if it reads those correctly.

 

[jphilip813]

I had a swing like that myself during the summer time, when I had the windows in my living room opened, to let some fresh air in...But mine went up to 8.47...Is that something similar you have as well?

 

[SeeFu]

Seems very high and I wonder if it's calibrated correctly.. I would test it and stick it in a packet of pH 7 and then pH 10 solution to see if it reads those correctly.

i've already done that twice. both times my ph read the same after calibrating the sensors

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

8.7 is very unlikely to be accurate without dosing very high pH additives in huge amounts or alkalinity is way, way high (above 14 dKH).

if it is that high, aeration alone will readily bring it down.

So unless the tank is very poorly aerated, it is test error.

Try measuring pH in a cup away from the tank.

if still high, try aerating that water to see if it comes down.

pH 10 solutions go bad (lower in pH as CO2 enters) and that can lead to false high readings. So can electrical interference and other problem settings on controllers (such as incorrect temperature corrections).

 

[SeeFu]

I've already got enough surface agitation where water is slashing a little over the top of the tank. what's my next step to get more aeration?

I just bouht my PH calibration fluids about 2 months ago. maybe the Milwaukee solutions test higher than neptune solutions?

 

[SeeFu]

i did notice that for the lognest time my PH was ranging from 7.8-8. then when i recalibrated just as a bi annual maintenance it jumped from the prior 7.8-8 to the current 8.3-8.7. But i did recalibrate several times.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I've already got enough surface agitation where water is slashing a little over the top of the tank. what's my next step to get more aeration?

I just bouht my PH calibration fluids about 2 months ago. maybe the Milwaukee solutions test higher than neptune solutions?

Then I expect you have no high pH, but pH measurement problems.

I have seen hundreds of claims of high pH, and anything as high as yours ends up being test error if you did not just overdose on limewater/kalkwasser or a similar product.

 

[SeeFu]

what woudl my next step be? recalibrate w/ a new set of solutions or just replace the probe?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

i did notice that for the lognest time my PH was ranging from 7.8-8. then when i recalibrated just as a bi annual maintenance it jumped from the prior 7.8-8 to the current 8.3-8.7. But i did recalibrate several times.

Maybe the fluids are bad.

The aeration test I suggested will prove if that's the case.

I discuss it here:

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

 

[SeeFu]

i've had some tank water in a cop for about 5-10 min now but ph still reads the same. 8.45.

 

[SeeFu]

thanks for all the help Randy

 

[CyberGuy]

Isn't pH of 8.45 a good thing? I want my pH to get up to that level for better growth but it could never be that high so I am even thinking of adding a Kalkwasser stirrer to my system.

 

[jerrod]

Have you tried testing PH manually without the probe. That should give you an idea whether its a bad probe/calibration and give you a second opinion on what your actual PH is.

 

[jerrod]

Isn't pH of 8.45 a good thing? I want my pH to get up to that level for better growth but it could never be that high so I am even thinking of adding a Kalkwasser stirrer to my system.

I was always told the still safe and best for growth range was 8.0-8.4 (8.3 being ideal off the BRS video) but I am not an expert and don't know where the to high level starts.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

The pH 8.45 water was reading what in the tank? That was aerated or just sitting in a cup?

pH 8.45 is OK and could be accurate even after aeration if the alk is high (like 11+ dKH) and room CO2 is normal. But it also may still be reading high if the room air has elevated CO2.

It is the 8.7 that I think is inaccurate no matter what.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I was always told the still safe and best for growth range was 8.0-8.4 (8.3 being ideal off the BRS video) but I am not an expert and don't know where the to high level starts.

Yes, pH 8.45 or even 8.55 is fine.

8.7, fine or not, is, I think, inaccurate.

 

[Shirak]

I doubt the milwaukee fluids are bad if only a couple month old and haven't been opened. If you are saving them after use then well.. they could be who knows what..

I messed my calibration up once doing a manual calibration through apex fusion and not letting the two readings settle properly before hitting next. I have also heard it is better to do the manual calibration vs the automatic mode. I also double check after going through calibration by retesting the probe's readings in both the 7 and 10 fluid. I set the apex to do a 1 minute refresh on readings and I leave the probe in until it gives me an updated reading.. AND I don't know if it helps but I dip the probe in a cup of rodi water to rinse before switching from between tank/ph7/ph10, followed with shaking off any drips.

 

[SeeFu]

The pH 8.45 water was reading what in the tank? That was aerated or just sitting in a cup?

pH 8.45 is OK and could be accurate even after aeration if the alk is high (like 11+ dKH) and room CO2 is normal. But it also may still be reading high if the room air has elevated CO2.

It is the 8.7 that I think is inaccurate no matter what.

8.45 was just tank water sitting in a cup unaerated.

 

[SeeFu]

this is my ph graph from apex