I dose carbonate that I buy in powder form at J&L and mix myself. I use dosing pumps that come on once an hour and my ph stays at a steady 8.2. I stopped testing it years ago though cause I found that if you keep your alk in check your PH will stay stable, at least in my tank it does.
For coral growth I've found alk and calcium levels are more important than chasing ph. Aim for stability and your system will run right unless you maintain a stable number that is way off the charts or something like that.
I've heard claims like "SPS need alk of 12" or "PH has to be 8.4" over the years but I run a very successful sps system with my alk at 7.8 - 8.
I really don't think there are perfect numbers, only acceptable ranges for all reef tank numbers.
Ok, I've rambled enough...lol
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