ReeferMan September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 Ok so I have lately been having a issue with keeping my PH up at night. During the day it sits at 7.8 (which IMO is low for the day) And its 7.5-7.6 at night. I dose kalk through a kalk reactor twice a day one in the morning one at night and even when i recharge the kalk the ph doesnt go any higher. What can i do to fix this? I have seen a mild STN.
Coral Hind September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 What is your alk level at? Have you calibrated your probe lately? Being an in wall it may not be getting enough gas exchange, try opening the doors to see if that helps. A sealed up house will result in lower pH, open the windows and see if it goes up.
cabrego September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 If you are dosing kalk daily, I find it hard to believe your ph would be that low. Verify your ph measurement/ probe calibration is good advice..
zoozilla September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 More than likely CO2 build up in the fish room. Very common in newer airtight homes. You'll need to introduce more O2 to offset the CO2 saturation in your tank. One effective way to do this is taking the Skimmer air-intake tube, extending it, and some how porting it to the outside of your house. hth Ok so I have lately been having a issue with keeping my PH up at night. During the day it sits at 7.8 (which IMO is low for the day) And its 7.5-7.6 at night. I dose kalk through a kalk reactor twice a day one in the morning one at night and even when i recharge the kalk the ph doesnt go any higher. What can i do to fix this? I have seen a mild STN.
Origami September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 Calibrate your probe first and make sure it's giving you a good reading. If it's accurate, then test for high CO2 in the ambient environment shifting the pH downward. From this article: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php The Aeration Test Remove a cup of tank water and measure the pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. The pH should rise if the pH is unusually low for the measured alkalinity (if it does not rise, most likely one of the measurements (pH or alkalinity) is in error). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If the pH rises there too, then the aquarium pH will rise with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise inside (or rises very little), then the inside air contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should). As a reference, the pH of saturated kalkwasser is about 12.54 at room temperature. This can vary with temperature and depends upon saturation. This is also one of my favorite homemade reference articles: http://web.archive.org/web/20021015005420/...bio/default.asp The gist of the article (for me) is 1/2 tsp of 20 Mule Team Borax (available in the laundry detergent aisle at the grocery) plus 16 ounces of water yields a pretty good reference with a pH around 9.2. It's less dependent upon saturation, so it's a better test than the kalkwasser one I listed above.
ReeferMan September 28, 2009 Author September 28, 2009 I will calibrate it tonight and go from there. Thanks for the info
bankyf September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 Do you have any gas appliances(like a water heater) in or near your fish room. FWIW, I have a ventless gas fireplace in my house and if I turn it on in the winter my ph will rapidly drop from 8.2 to 7.8 or lower. If I turn it off and open a window it will come rightback up. The fireplace is on the other side of the house. I will calibrate it tonight and go from there. Thanks for the info
ReeferMan September 28, 2009 Author September 28, 2009 i have a gas water heater in my fish room next to my tank
bankyf September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 i have a gas water heater in my fish room next to my tank There is your problem. I had considered trying to run the airline of my skimmer to the outside. Not sure if it would help, but you definatly need fresh air circulation in there.
reefhunter September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 Wow Bankyf are you a detective!? Good work! My tank stays between 8 and 8.4 in my kitchen next to a door that opens constantly. I am not dosing anything at the moment.
ReeferMan September 28, 2009 Author September 28, 2009 There is your problem. I had considered trying to run the airline of my skimmer to the outside. Not sure if it would help, but you definatly need fresh air circulation in there. Do you think that will be enough?
bankyf September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 Do you think that will be enough? You mean the skimmer line? Not sure, but that is a lot of air being injected into your water. It would have to help some.
zoozilla September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 (edited) Do you think that will be enough? Should be enough. My previous set up was originally running 7.6 @ night and 8.0 during the day After extending my skimmer air-intake tube to the outside of the house, I consistently ran a pH of 8.3+ Dan @ GreySeas Aquatics did the same thing to consistently boost his pH. He simply punched a tiny hole in the wall to the outside of his house and ran an airline tube from his skimmer to the outside. Edited September 28, 2009 by zoozilla
ReeferMan September 28, 2009 Author September 28, 2009 Guess I need to go grab some tubing and test it out.
Origami September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 You're diurnal pH swing is reasonable. First calibrate your probe to make sure it's reading correctly. Then act to change things, if needed.
quazi September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 This is very interesting. My tanks are in the basement with a gas water heater and furnace. They are both vented. However, I am constantly fighting low pH, though not as low as Phisigs. I will try the out side air routing and see what happenes.
Coral Hind September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 I think it was Jamesbuf who mentioned to me that he placed his skimmer air intake outside and it corrected his pH problem. Shoot him a PM.
lanman September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 Wow Bankyf are you a detective!? Good work! My tank stays between 8 and 8.4 in my kitchen next to a door that opens constantly. I am not dosing anything at the moment. Mine stays between 8.0 and 8.5 - in a house that leaks like a seive. I am in the process of replacing the windows with better ones. I wonder if I will see a difference! bob
zoozilla September 28, 2009 September 28, 2009 ..leaks like a seive... That makes for good air exchange, Bob
ReeferMan September 29, 2009 Author September 29, 2009 Ok so I calibrated the ph probe and it seems that the probe needs to be replaced because it wouldnt calibrate. But I ran my air line from my skimmer outside and it went from 7.9 to 8.1 in about two hours. I think the ph probe is reading pretty close but I need a new probe. Anyone have a new one they arent going to use anymore?
Coral Hind September 29, 2009 September 29, 2009 It sounds like you found two causes of your problem. Low O2 around the tank and a probe issue.
ReeferMan September 29, 2009 Author September 29, 2009 Does anyone know what it means when a probe doesnt calibrate? Is it still close to reading correct or is it usually way off? I guess it can go either way. Im going to replace it but wondering how close it could be. It seems to be in the ballpark of reading correctly but not 100% accurate
bankyf September 30, 2009 September 30, 2009 If you were going to calibrate you must have the solution. Just stick it in the 7 or 10 and see if it is high or low and then you will know. Also, check this out. I think this would solve all your problems if you don't like venting outside. http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merchant2/m...;Category_Code= Does anyone know what it means when a probe doesnt calibrate? Is it still close to reading correct or is it usually way off? I guess it can go either way. Im going to replace it but wondering how close it could be. It seems to be in the ballpark of reading correctly but not 100% accurate
bankyf September 30, 2009 September 30, 2009 Also, FWIW BRK should have the probes and calibration fluid in stock and the will be open tomorrow.
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