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My ph is going crazy!!!!

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Nemesis, Apr 4, 2011.

  1. Apr 4, 2011 #1
    Nemesis

    Nemesis Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Ok At night it goes down to 7.65 during the day its up to 8.01-8.1. My alk is 12 , my nitrates are 0, my mag is 1450, my phosphates are 0. Salinity is 1.023 temp is 77.3-77.5  My orp is 272 and currently my ph is 8.07. I have my sump on a reverse lighting with live rock and algae to keep producing o2. I have started to air the house out everyday to keep co2 levels down, and also have run my skimmer air line outside to get pure O2. It helps but the drop during the night is so drastic It is killing my spongodes coral. I know they like 8.1-8.4 ph but the constant dips are causing it to turn white at the bottom edges and looks like it is dying off. I am really at a loss. My ph up  supplement only works for a few hours then it starts to drop again. SO any ideas as to what is really going on here.Also my meteor shower coral has turned the color of skin ,not dead just no green or red any more.  All other corals are fine so far with the swings.
     
  2. Apr 4, 2011 #2
    Foo

    Foo Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    High alk can burn/kill corals. 12 is pushing it IMO. What the calcium level?
     
  3. Apr 4, 2011 #3
    seanndenise1

    seanndenise1 Inactive User

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    Im pretty sure you are going to have a ph swing when the lights go out, shouldnt be that much though.

    I would quit using the ph up stuff its a pain in the butt. a ph close to what a certain coral likes is alot better than a ph that goes back and forth. what type salt are you using?

    ill bet with the lights out and the ph additive combined is what the problem is.
     
  4. Apr 4, 2011 #4
    waterfowler

    waterfowler

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    IMO Cal. and alk. go hand in hand. If one is out of wack the other is probably is to. Cal levels? I would stop using any thing that is adding to your high alk and try getting your levels at 9-10 Dkh 420-440 on your cal. See what your ph does at that point.
     
  5. Apr 4, 2011 #5
    Waverz

    Waverz Expert Reefkeeper

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    PH is so overrated...chasing it around is a waste of time. Running a refugium on a reverse lighting cycle can help reduce nightly swings, besides that as long as it's in range let it do it's thing and don't sweat it. Alk. on the hand is something you really want to keep in check, overall you want an "ionic balance" which is far more important than PH.
     
  6. Apr 4, 2011 #6
    FishBrain New London

    FishBrain Expert Reefkeeper

    3,963
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    I agree with what waverz said 100%
     
  7. Apr 5, 2011 #7
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

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    I maintain 3 tanks and keep Alk about the same in all 3, and pH varies consistently from tank to tank. I think there are too many factors to try and control it, it's best just to leave it be. As far as you corals go, do you know *for sure* that the pH swing is the problem? It could be something else. It could be the pH up you've been adding, or it could be something completely different.

    Check Calcium and Magnesium. FYI those are in the came chemical family (as well as Strontium) so they need to be in balance somewhat in a reef system. Go look at a periodic table, they're in the same column, one after another. But don't bother checking Strontium I doubt it's the problem (plus the test is a total pain)
     
  8. Apr 5, 2011 #8
    Actuary Adel, IA

    Actuary Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Interestingly this is the overwhelming consensus over at the Zeovit forums as well.  I was alarmed when I recently had a pH dip as well and was basically told to not sweat it, just make sure you keep Ca, Alk, Mg in check and it should be fine.  My corals look better than ever and I'm hanging around a 7.8-7.9 pH and not too concerned with it.  But I thought they were nuts when they told me that as I had never seen anyone say to not worry about pH.
     
  9. Apr 5, 2011 #9
    Nemesis

    Nemesis Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    Well i found my alk was way high and my calcium keeps getting depleted by the next day so im sure that does not help. I think I may have to get something other than kent Aand B for my calcium. Or start a kalk drip instead of a fresh water top off, have it be kalk top off. I think my little clam , along with my new corals are starting to use up my calcium fairly quickly. Alk is 10 now ph as of now is 8.18 and I think my calcium is 420 or higher. Test didn't make sense first was 420 , next was 380 . I just added calcium 20 minutes earlier to raise and the test showed lower.
     
  10. Apr 5, 2011 #10
    Actuary Adel, IA

    Actuary Well-Known ReefKeeper

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    As far as two-part solutions go I would recommend B-Ionic, I use it on my 28g nano and really like it. I actually need to use it on my 125g as well even though it runs a calc rx. Calc and Alk don't necessary get replenished from a reactor at the same ratio that they are consumed in your tank, so I have to tweak things with B-Ionic to keep them balanced every now and then.

    I don't think there's much to the two part solutions in all honesty though. If I recall, the alk component is just sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) or a blend of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate (baking soda and baked baking soda), and I can't remember what kind of Calcium the Ca component is (maybe Calcium Chloride?). So it could be the exact same product as Kent Marine's A & B I suppose.
     
  11. Apr 5, 2011 #11
    Bud West Des Moines, IA

    Bud Loves Bacon Website Team Board of Directors Leadership Team GIRS Member Vendor

    8,884
    West Des Moines, IA
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    I would switch to Salifert Alkalinity and Calcium kits. Worth every penny. I use those and BRS 2-part (which is really 3-part, with the Magnesium) and I was able to nail the alk and cal uptake right down to the mL needed every day after monitoring for a couple of weeks and accounting for top-off water. Then I got a doser and spread it out across the day and dose the calcium once a day (well, I don't - the owner does).
     

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