Understanding ph

BDV0128 · Mar 15, 2019

i just started my tank 90 gallons with a 20 gallon sump. It has about 90 lbs of dried rock in it and 40 lbs of sand. I set my apex up and calibrated the probes.
Temp 79.5
Salinity 35
Orp 186
Ph 7.5

I have had the alarm on it going off for days now for ph. I put kalk in my ato container. I just started putting a small amount of pellet food in the tank to get it cycling a couple of days ago. Is this just a wait and it will go up or is this because I should have done something differently.

James M · Mar 15, 2019

7.5 is in the range of keeping a tank and you’re cycling the tank so I wouldn’t be concerned about it

BDV0128 · Mar 15, 2019

My apex is going crazy and sending me alarms because it is below 7.8

Jay Z · Mar 15, 2019

Do normal PH test also with a kit also. Never put 100% faith in a digital reader.

You can bump the alarm parameters down a hair if the alerts annoy you.

BDV0128 · Mar 15, 2019

Shouldn’t the read out be correct if I calibrated the probe? Otherwise why the hell did I pay 800 bucks for an inaccurate thing.

BestMomEver · Mar 15, 2019

I have issues with pH. Never goes higher that 8.05. And only recently has it gone as high as 8. My apex gave me alarms all day and night on the hour. Until you get your tank cycled, go into fusion and change the pH limit down to 7.5. That way you won’t get alarms. When it finishes the cycle, you can move it back up.

Billdogg · Mar 15, 2019

pH is something that you should never really worry about. It will fluctuate with the time of day, the number of people in the house, etc. What you DO NOT want to do is go chasing a specific number for your pH. Anything you use to raise it will have only a very temporary effect, and while chasing it you will end up raising the alkalinity so high that you will end up having troubles there.

I have not checked the pH of any of my tanks in at least 20 years. If you are planning on stony corals, the numbers you will want to stay on top of are Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium. If you run into troubles keeping your Alk at an acceptable range (I keep mine at ~8.0) then there is a good chance that the Magnesium is low.

As a new, not even cycled tank, I wouldn't even check at this point, and when you do, use the same test kits every time - I like Salifert for their ease of use and repeatability, and do it at the same time each day.

hth

BestMomEver · Mar 15, 2019

BDV0128 said:
Shouldn’t the read out be correct if I calibrated the probe? Otherwise why the hell did I pay 800 bucks for an inaccurate thing.

I don’t find mine inaccurate. I do manual tests to compare. But I do recommend recalibrating every three months. You can find online sources for calibration fluids in bottles so you don’t have to open (and waste) calibration fluid all the time.

Jay Z · Mar 15, 2019

BDV0128 said:
Shouldn’t the read out be correct if I calibrated the probe? Otherwise why the hell did I pay 800 bucks for an inaccurate thing.

They work for some people and they don't for the others. Mine won't ever calibrate right. Just saying to double check just to make sure your on track and its holding.

ihavecrabs · Mar 15, 2019

Keep in mind what increases pH.

In a new tank, you do not have many algaes, corals, etc that are taking up CO2 and replacing it with O2 (which increases pH)

I would also not dose kalk based on pH, but on the Alkalinity alone. A pH boost is a beneficial outcome of using Kalk but should never be the sole reason to dose it. Alkalinity is far more crucial to keep stable.

Good luck on your new tank cycle!

ihavecrabs · Mar 15, 2019

By the way, I also have an apex and use my apex ph probes (actually have two) and find they are more than accurate enough for our needs. I use it for trending mostly and I am not fixated on the number itself. Remember to calibrate every 6 months or so!

BDV0128 · Mar 15, 2019

I am not trying to chase numbers. I just want it to be in an acceptable range for now. I will get a test kit and test all the water parameters manually but I didn’t think it was all that important yet until the cycle really started in the tank. I wasn’t trying to dose kalk for raising the ph if I said it that way I just meant to inform that I was using it in my ato and it was still on the low end. My alk is at 7.9 as of this morning.

BDV0128 · Mar 15, 2019

Would adding algae to my refugium help?

ihavecrabs · Mar 15, 2019

BDV0128 said:
Would adding algae to my refugium help?

Not really. There is a lot that needs to stabilize in a new tank. How old is it and has it completed the cycle?

Algae would likely die off in an uncycled tank. In a newer cycled tank, you could give it a try but I would do it for biological diversification and stability reasons and not to just benefit my pH.

BDV0128 said:
I am not trying to chase numbers. I just want it to be in an acceptable range for now. I will get a test kit and test all the water parameters manually but I didn’t think it was all that important yet until the cycle really started in the tank. I wasn’t trying to dose kalk for raising the ph if I said it that way I just meant to inform that I was using it in my ato and it was still on the low end. My alk is at 7.9 as of this morning.

Yeah, you have the right approach. Alkalinity is in a fine range. Keep dosing to keep it there. pH will rise as the system matures. The first question above on how old/cycle status will help give additional guidance if neeeded.

BDV0128 · Mar 15, 2019

The system is only a week old but I was just letting it run and then someone told me I had to start feeding the tank a little food to actually start the cycle so about two days ago I added about four pellets and now just waiting to see what happens.

KyOsIBa515 · Mar 15, 2019

Drop your tank to 77 degrees if you are comfortable w that. May help...higher temperatures make water molecules move more rapid thus less likely able to make molecular bonds...ultimately lowering pH. Maybe a way to stop you from alarming until your tank settles down.