How to control PH at night ?

[Casey8]

I have a problem to keep PH at night. I have been trying to drip Kalwasser, it really helps the PH not to drop too low, I can say it is almost perfect like in the day time. But the problem is, my KH is getting to high if I dose every night. I mix 5 table spoons in 5 gallons and keep filling it up with water for another 3 to 4 days maximum. I threw away the left over at the bottom. How do you guys control your PH not to drop at night ?

[reefwars]

you can run a refugium and allow photosynthesis to occur at night while the display is dark.....theres usually a difference in night and day with ph, i wouldnt be adding anything unless its a drastic swing , how much are we talking?? what are you testing with??

[reefwars]

dosing kalk will affect your alk if the calcium isnt getting used up fast enough.

[Casey8]

There is no chance for me to turn on the refugium light at night because the sump I have set up is beside my tank and it is located in my bedroom. Is it any alternative that I can control it ?

[reefwars]

There is no chance for me to turn on the refugium light at night because the sump I have set up is beside my tank and it is located in my bedroom. Is it any alternative that I can control it ?


what are the readings ranging from?? its acceptable to drop a bit during the night and then raise in the morning/afternoon.

are you using a probe to get your readings?

[Casey8]

I am using the cheapest API to test PH. Day time is showing dark purple 8.3 but only 7.5 light pink color around 7AM. None of my fish show sign of distress but I don't like it.

[syncro]

Some more info on pH here:

Reef Aquarium Water Parameters (Randy Holmes-Farley)
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/index.php


Some options for control:

Chemistry And The Aquarium: Boron In A Reef Tank (see pH Stability section)
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/12/chemistry#section-14

[reefwars]

haha dont supposed a hrv is out of the question :p im guessing the swing is because this tank is in your bedroom and theres not a whole lot of fresh air coming in i think during summer youll find you wont be having these swings as drastic. is it a reeftank you have?? if so unless theres any drastic change in your corals appearance i wouldnt worry about my ph to much i would just get my alk back to where its supposed to be once that stays consistent i think youll find your ph will balance out.

[Casey8]

I have never thought the difference between bedroom and season ... haha ... I think you are right about it, it looks like the PH drops more in the winter time :mrgreen: All my sps corals and fish are fine, no showing of any distress at all. I think I am just worrying too much. Thanks reefwars.

Thanks syncro, I think I have to take my whole day off tomorrow to absorb all the chemistry stuff :mrgreen: ... phew ...

[reefwars]

theres def alot of things that come into play its best not to mix things up to much sometimes you need to look at everything as a whole.... focusing to much attention to one particular thing distracts you from the whole picture;)


it is a bit of a swing but if its not affecting your coral then id drop it and get your alk back to normal.

[Casey8]

Yes Sirrr :mrgreen:

[tang daddy]

my ph swings from 7.8 at night to 8.29 in the day and all the corals and fish are fine. I think if the swings are more than 5 it cant be good but still not severe. I am sure lots of people on here have the same swings....

[lastlight]

I think I am just worrying too much.

I've never even bothered to test ph (maybe I'm a moron) but I wouldn't take corrective action anyways so I figure why not save some money. All seems ok!

[reefwars]

I've never even bothered to test ph (maybe I'm a moron) but I wouldn't take corrective action anyways so I figure why not save some money. All seems ok!


i dont test mine either i figure why test for something that changes now if there was something not right with the tank maybe, but i know most of the signs now and if somethings not right chemistry wise i can tell:)

[Aquattro]

I've never even bothered to test ph (maybe I'm a moron) but I wouldn't take corrective action anyways so I figure why not save some money. All seems ok!

I don't test either, and wouldn't worry about a reading if I did. Fish and corals are fine. I'm fine.

[eli@fijireefrock.com]

I've never even bothered to test ph (maybe I'm a moron) but I wouldn't take corrective action anyways so I figure why not save some money. All seems ok!

I don t test either watching the corals and fish in your tank should b plenty of good or bad signs letting you know the status of your tank.

[whatcaneyedo]

For those of us who use a calcium reactor pH monitoring is important but for the rest of you its not a big deal. You've likely got a large buildup of CO2 in your closed bedroom by morning. You could extend your skimmer air intake so that it draws air from outside. Or leave your bedroom door open... or just not worry about it as the others have suggested.

[Aquattro]

For those of us who use a calcium reactor pH monitoring is important...

I run a reactor and still don't worry about it.

[Lampshade]

I run a reactor and don't worry about it. I started to worry a little more recently since i my PH was going down to 7.5, which was a bit too low. So i started adding kalk into my top off water, now i sit at 7.8ish. The kalk made swings worse since it boosted my PH when water was evaporating during the day. I'd stay away from it unless you have to. I highly recommend a refugium, it's helped my swings a lot. here's the past week(the spike was me messing with the program). my high is about 0.2 more than the night, so not a huge swing at all.

https://api.pachube.com/v2/feeds/39731/datastreams/2.png?width=600&height=150&colour=%231f9e0a&duration=1week&title=Aquarium%20PH&show_axis_labels=true&detailed_grid=true&scale=manual&min=7.5&max=8.5&timezone=Pacific%20Time%20(US%20&%20Canada)

[whatcaneyedo]

In 2006 I went away for a week and had my room mate look after my tank. He accidentally bumped the dial on my CO2 regulator and dumped the full 20 lbs cylinder into my reactor/aquarium/basement. It nearly killed everything and probably would have if I hadn't gotten home in time. From that day forward I monitor/control the pH in my aquarium and reactor. I also found someone else to look after things when I go away.

Sorry for the hijack.

[Casey8]

I am putting a very long hose to connected to my skimmer valve and go straight to my small air vent in my bedroom 24hrs. I am also planning to put a big blanket to cover up my small refugium so the light is left on the whole night to control the PH swing. I really don't like the way it has changed too much from 8.3 down to 7.5 in the early morning.
Thanks for your inputs, guys. I hope I can find the solution to deal with this problem.

[Aquarium_Medics]

Be careful when covering your tank, you can actually increase the Co2 levels as the cover inhibits the exchange of gases.

[Casey8]

Thanks for reminding me. I will try tonight and test it again tomorrow let see what happens. If it is not working I will just have to live with it as reefwars and everyone else has told me just to leave it alone.