Hanna checker replacement syringes, where to buy? PH high help?

[LanglandJoshua]

I had some of those plastic syringes sitting out drying, someone moved them and now they are lost. This stuff happens all the time in my house...so now I need to find a place to buy them. I know petco and the marine Scene dont sell them, so does anyone know where I can look?

 

On another note, my PH is running crazy high! Averaging 8.8 over the past two weeks, maybe my assault on the aptasia with "aptasia X" is the cause. I thought a couple water changes would fix it. Over the past week I have done two 35 gallon changes on a 210gal system. Should I do another in a couple days? I tried dosing alk 25ml a day for three days. Then put a little magnesium supliment in the ATO, 1/2tsp would be added to the tank over about 8 hours this way. Hoping to see if the PH settled a little bit, it didn't... Sadly since my syringes are missing, I cant test for calcium or alk. This week I swapped out my usual instant ocean salt mix for the reef crystals version to see if it helped. Yet still high. My magnesium test kit thankfully is complete so I tested it, and my magnesium is at 1400ppm. So it is a little high, but resonable. I am going to recalibrate my PH sensor on my RKE and pray that helps. If that does not work, I will get a cheap High range PH kit to double check my RKE. I even moved my PH sensor to the DT, in stead of the sumps chamber by my return pump. Something must be off, hopefully I find it before any corals fish/ inverts pay the price...if I am missing something please let me know! Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[Marc Weaver]

I would bet on the probe being dirty or out of calibration. My probe did the same thing and I cleaned it with a soft brush and some dilute acid, re-calibrated and it is working fine now. You may be able to get a 1mL syringe at a pharmacy. Just tell them what it's for and tell them you don't need the needle on it and maybe you will get lucky and they will sell you one. Or maybe try your vet's office if you have one. If you know someone with diabetes maybe they will have one.

[zygote2k]

why are you adding alk if pH is too high? 1/2 tsp of Mg over 8 hours is nothing. You can pour several cups of Mg mix into a tank at one time. Switching from I/O to RC certainly won't lower your pH either.

Too many variables in too little time only spells CONFUSION.

[Jon Lazar]

you can get 5ml amd 1ml syringes at CVS for free or nearly free. Just go to the pharmacy and ask.

[Origami]

I don't trust that pH reading, frankly. Clean and calibrate the probe. Aiptasia-X is a lot like Joe's Juice - meaning that it's primarily kalk (calcium hydroxide). The difference is that it's encapsulated in little microscopic gelatin balls (you can research their patent and find this out) that make it palatable to the Aiptasia. So, while Aiptasia-X will raise your pH, I can't imagine that you'd use so much of it as to raise the pH in a tank of any significant size, unless you used several bottles of the stuff. Calibrate your probe first. If you still have pH issues (and the tank is showing signs of stress), there are ways to bring the pH down including carbonated water, vinegar, or even muriatic acid. Take a look at the pinned thread that talks about Kalk Overdoses for options and guidelines about how to bring pH down. Once again - clean and calibrate the probe first! I can't stress how important this is before committing to bring the pH down.

[Cliff Puckstable]

I'm a little out of the way from you, but if you need a (new) syringe I can get you some.

[LanglandJoshua]

OK, finally got the time to sit down and figure this out. So here is what happened. I went to walgreens and asked for some plastic 1ml and 10ml syringes. After some weird looks and a short explenation that it was for an aquarium. They gave me 4 of each. So I'm set for a while on syringes. If anyone needs them let me know, I have 'em. Today I finally got to test! I also soaked my PH sensor in vinegar, recalibrated it, and checked it against a Red Sea PH test. THEY AGREE! After sorting it all out, I am glad that it was just a sensor needing calibration. Otherwise I would have had a true headache! It also means I can get back to killing the aptasia!

 

Here are the results, note that the tests were after the dusk dimming and only under moonlight(LED lights). So PH should be a little low, and will rise by mid day.

 

PH 7.83 (measured by RKE sensor)

Temp 78.6 F (RKE sensor)

Alk 135ppm 7.56dKH (Hanna Checker)

Calcium 473ppm (Hanna)

Magnesium 1300ppm (Red Sea)

 

As mentioned above in a previous post I have switched from the Instant Ocean standard mix. To the Reef Crystals, reef specific mix. Which I am hoping will raise my Alk a bit.

 

zygote2k After seeing the B-Ionic label instructing to dose alk when PH was high, and calcium when PH was low. Both relative to the diural swings. I was thinking that calcium raised PH and alk droped it. After rereading the beginers forums sticky for water parameters here I was reminded how things really work. So I am rereading everything. It is refreshing to have read the same thing many times now. Yet every time I read it, I explore different links and learn even more than the last. My favorite thing about this hobby is that with more reading comes more questions. There is always more to learn! If I notice my numbers dropping over the next month then I will consider dosing to maintain proper levels.

 

After my reread I do feel silly dosing so little mg. Though the container did say to start very slowly. You mentioned being able to dose several cups of mg and do no damage? Do you mean a cup of solution, or powder?

 

Origami Great advice! I am happy with the recalibrated tests. However I will be sure to read those posts anyways, these forums are a wealth of knowledge!

 

Jon/ Marc I was hoping to avoid that awkward moment. However, it worked!

 

Cliff Thanks for he offer. Walgreens was a little awkward, but it got the job done.

 

Thanks guys for the fast response, I would have prefered to test and reply sooner. But with work, family, and a birthday the tank kinda took a back seat.

Edited December 15, 2012 by LanglandJoshua