Dosing Alk at night to buffer ph swing?

[elwallacejr]

For a while I was dosing Alk (ESV) at night to keep the pH swing a little more in check, usually about 8.0 to 8.1.  I switched back to dosing throughout the day to maintain a constant alk throughout the day.  The result of a continual dose over 24 hrs is a pH swing of 7.9 to 8.1.  I'm curious what others are doing out there.  Is anyone dosing Alk primarily at night to mitigate pH swing?  Any thoughts on this?  That said my SPS seem to be doing pretty well on the 24 hour dosing cycle.  I'm not getting explosive growth but noticeable gains.

 

Thanks for any input.

[madweazl]

For a while I was dosing Alk (ESV) at night to keep the pH swing a little more in check, usually about 8.0 to 8.1.  I switched back to dosing throughout the day to maintain a constant alk throughout the day.  The result of a continual dose over 24 hrs is a pH swing of 7.9 to 8.1.  I'm curious what others are doing out there.  Is anyone dosing Alk primarily at night to mitigate pH swing?  Any thoughts on this?  That said my SPS seem to be doing pretty well on the 24 hour dosing cycle.  I'm not getting explosive growth but noticeable gains.

 

Thanks for any input.

No reason to change anything with a pH of 7.9-8.1. 

[Coral Hind]

What levels are your alk at over the 24 hour period? The pH numbers you show seem fine, towards the lower end, so either should work for you with the night dosing being a little more stable. I used reactors mostly, but when I did does alk separately I always did it at night since that's when it was consumed the most as corals and coralline algae lay down most of their structure at night. I liked to have a large refuge of algae on a reverse daylight schedule to help keep a constant pH. 

[molcott]

I have my refugium lights come on as my tank lights go off

[elwallacejr]

What levels are your alk at over the 24 hour period? The pH numbers you show seem fine, towards the lower end, so either should work for you with the night dosing being a little more stable. I used reactors mostly, but when I did does alk separately I always did it at night since that's when it was consumed the most as corals and coralline algae lay down most of their structure at night. I liked to have a large refuge of algae on a reverse daylight schedule to help keep a constant pH. 

 

My alk is tested daily around 6pm and is usually holding steady in the upper 9dkh range.  I'm dosing 45ml of ESV into a 57.  I'm in the process of putting together a CaReactor just need to buy the regulator but I'm mildly concerned that my pH might plummet when I go that route.  I do have a fuge full of cheato and red macro algae that I light at night with a eshops curve fuge light.  While it's growing chaeto - I think I could stand to have a more powerful light.  I'm also about to build a new sump that will have about 14 gallons of fuge space. Probably going to put my old coralife 96w power compact on it since it's just laying dormant.  Your comment about when corals lay down their structure is really interesting - thanks for that tidbit.

Edited October 18, 2017 by elwallacejr

[elwallacejr]

I've also got a Deep Blue 34 frag tank that is just waiting to get plumbed into the system and lit.  Part of the reason for thinking about the CA Reactor route.

[Coral Hind]

Is the tank open top or have a cover? Good air exchange over a tank helps with pH. If you can, run the air intake to your skimmer outside as it helps raise pH levels. Our homes tend to be lower in oxygen levels than outside air which makes it harder to keep pH up. Fish load is also key as the acid from fish waste lowers pH. A lighter fish load makes it easier to maintain alk/pH levels.