PH Swings
- Thread starter ducati1212
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W1ngz
Failed Padawan
Your troughs are really low. When it dips below 7.8 it's cause for concern. Below 7.7 you really should to do something about it. A daily cycle up and down about .2 units is perfectly normal.
You can manage the pH swings by opening windows to vent CO2 from the room and by maintaining stable alkalinity.
You can manage the pH swings by opening windows to vent CO2 from the room and by maintaining stable alkalinity.
jsker
Reefing is all about the adventure
You might want to look at getting some fresh air, Co2 scrubber link to the skimmer or like I just discovered and larger skimmer to bring up the PH. 7.8 and above is where you would like to be, 8 for the peaks or higher
My PH bounce around, here is what I have been running
My PH bounce around, here is what I have been running
ZoWhat
10K Club member
Bottom of the curve is at the end of your dark period.
Top of the curve is at the end of your light cycle.
pH rises as your lights come on and stay on. Drops when its light-out
Best practices NOT to chase pH. Your tanks pH 'is-what-it-is' based on how much fresh air your place gets circulated. If you want a rise in pH plumb your skimmer to a 1/4in airline hose and get the hose OUTSIDE your house
Top of the curve is at the end of your light cycle.
pH rises as your lights come on and stay on. Drops when its light-out
Best practices NOT to chase pH. Your tanks pH 'is-what-it-is' based on how much fresh air your place gets circulated. If you want a rise in pH plumb your skimmer to a 1/4in airline hose and get the hose OUTSIDE your house
Lots of good advice above. I would add that if you have a refugium, lighting it at night when your tank is dark can also raise pH as the macroalgae fixes CO2 during photosynthesis.
ducati1212
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I will move the refugium lights to be on at night, opposite my tank lights. Its hot summer so I have AC on in that room but I do have a fan to move air across the tank. As it gets cooler into fall I can open windows.
W1ngz
Failed Padawan
A fan over the tank will increase evaporation and help control temperature, but won't affect the ph.
Shutting down the AC overnight and opening the window when temperatures are cooler is also an option. The best would be to do what @skimjim mentioned, and feed the skimmer air from outside where the CO2 levels will be much lower than they are inside a closed house.
Shutting down the AC overnight and opening the window when temperatures are cooler is also an option. The best would be to do what @skimjim mentioned, and feed the skimmer air from outside where the CO2 levels will be much lower than they are inside a closed house.
Tuan’s Reef
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I don’t chase my PH but I do monitor it.
Your lows is low and even your highs is in the lower range. I find opening my windows early in the morning for 2 hours significantly raises my PH throughout the day. I also dose my Alk at night to help with down swing that happens when lights go out. Other than that I leave my PH alone.
Your lows is low and even your highs is in the lower range. I find opening my windows early in the morning for 2 hours significantly raises my PH throughout the day. I also dose my Alk at night to help with down swing that happens when lights go out. Other than that I leave my PH alone.
ducati1212
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Thanks for the help. I was actually going to ignore the PH but my apex sent me the 1000th alarm and I thought let me post a question. The tank is near a window I can open unfortunately it gets hot here in aug so I dont want it open much.
