YYCGUY's Red Sea 500S

[yycguy]

Thanks Kien, I guess it's my Apex displaying my PH that brings it to my attention. I just don't get why it appears low? When others say there's is 8.2 or higher? Does the salt blend have something to do with it? I used to use Reefers Best and I am planning on going back to that once I finish up the RC
What should I be aiming for Alkalinity ?
Is 8 ok or should it be closer to 9? Remember for me to get it there I was dosing more DkH and that caused my pump problems
My tank is mainly SPS

[Bblinks]

Originally Posted by yycguy

Thanks Kien, I guess it's my Apex displaying my PH that brings it to my attention. I just don't get why it appears low? When others say there's is 8.2 or higher? Does the salt blend have something to do with it? I used to use Reefers Best and I am planning on going back to that once I finish up the RC
What should I be aiming for Alkalinity ?
Is 8 ok or should it be closer to 9? Remember for me to get it there I was dosing more DkH and that caused my pump problems
My tank is mainly SPS

I totally agree with Kien, PH isn't a big factor as long as it's stable and within 7.8 to 8.3 range. My PH is always around 8.10-8.15 during the day and 7.9-8.0 at night. I know some of us even go to the extend of dosing soda ash only at night to balance out the night time PH swing but I have never gone that extreme.
Salt blend will play a roll in your tank PH but I don't think its a major roll, you can always test the ph in your premixed resevoir before your water change and see where it's at, that wll give you a good idea on whether its gonna make a huge difference in your tank ph.
As far as alk, it depends on if you are running a probiotic system or not. Most probiotic system ie zeovit or pellets would probably prefer parameters closer to NSW which is 7 since higher alk will tend burn the tips of some sps. If you are not runing a probiotic system, you can probably run it at 8 or higher but the key here is STABILITY!

[kien]

Originally Posted by yycguy

Thanks Kien, I guess it's my Apex displaying my PH that brings it to my attention. I just don't get why it appears low? When others say there's is 8.2 or higher? Does the salt blend have something to do with it? I used to use Reefers Best and I am planning on going back to that once I finish up the RC
What should I be aiming for Alkalinity ?
Is 8 ok or should it be closer to 9? Remember for me to get it there I was dosing more DkH and that caused my pump problems
My tank is mainly SPS

what he said :-)
|
v

Originally Posted by Bblinks

I totally agree with Kien, PH isn't a big factor as long as it's stable and within 7.8 to 8.3 range. My PH is always around 8.10-8.15 during the day and 7.9-8.0 at night. I know some of us even go to the extend of dosing soda ash only at night to balance out the night time PH swing but I have never gone that extreme.
Salt blend will play a roll in your tank PH but I don't think its a major roll, you can always test the ph in your premixed resevoir before your water change and see where it's at, that wll give you a good idea on whether its gonna make a huge difference in your tank ph.
As far as alk, it depends on if you are running a probiotic system or not. Most probiotic system ie zeovit or pellets would probably prefer parameters closer to NSW which is 7 since higher alk will tend burn the tips of some sps. If you are not runing a probiotic system, you can probably run it at 8 or higher but the key here is STABILITY!

If you poll enough people you'll find that pH really is all over the place if you ask me right now what my pH is I'll tell you that it's 8.1. If you ask me later this evening I'll probably tell you that it is 8.3. If you ask me what my pH is tomorrow morning I'll tell you that it's 7.9.

Also keep in mind that CO2 also affects your pH. The amount of CO2 in your water at any given time varies and you can't not affect this easily. It also varies greatly from tank to tank.

Bottom line, DON'T PANIC! There is nothing wrong with your pH. It is fine. Keep on reefin' on :-)

[kien]

Originally Posted by yycguy

Thanks Kien, I guess it's my Apex displaying my PH that brings it to my attention. I just don't get why it appears low? When others say there's is 8.2 or higher? Does the salt blend have something to do with it? I used to use Reefers Best and I am planning on going back to that once I finish up the RC
What should I be aiming for Alkalinity ?
Is 8 ok or should it be closer to 9? Remember for me to get it there I was dosing more DkH and that caused my pump problems
My tank is mainly SPS

What you should be aiming for Alkalinity is partly a personal choice. Many people like to run high alk levels like 9-11. So long as you know what you're donig and your levels are in balance (with Calcium) then that's fine.

If you want to play it safe, generally speaking most people target 8 as a comfortably manageable level. I keep mine at 8 because if it slacks and slips to 7 it's not the end of the world. If it slips up to 9, still not the end of the world. The danger of keeping alk lower or higher is that your margin for error decreases at either end.