What is your PH swing?

[zambavi]

For the first 2-3 months in my 120g build I would see my pH swing from 7.8 - 8.4. I then changed my refugium light cycle to run opposite of my halides and cut back the halide cycle in the DT from 8 hours to 6 hours. This brought the swing to a consistent 8.05-8.25. IMO, The alternate light cycle helped keep the pH from dropping too low in the evenings and kept the pH down during the day. 5 months in on this tank now and the pH stays between 8.12 and 8.21 for the last couple of weeks. There are other factors here of course but to me the staggered lighting made the biggest difference.

In my 20g Frag tank I had an issue with high pH for several months. To combat it I would cut my halide lighting back when the pH reached 8.4. I had to cut my halide lighting back to 4 hours a day to keep in check.... If not it would raise to 8.5-8.6. I slowly over a few months increased the halide lighting cycle up to 6 hours where it stays now. pH stays between 8.0 and 8.3

The pH in my 29g nano has not been an issue in about 8 months. Usually see an 8.0-8.3 swing in pH. I contribute this and the overall health of this tank mostly to doing a 1g water change about 5 times a week. It only takes about 5 minutes to do and goes along way IMO in keeping this tank healthy and stable.

Really low pH has never been a problem for me but as I add a Calcium reactor to my 120 this week I'm sure I will have some adjusting to do. Probably will become a new thread to help me get it right

 

[sfsuphysics]

Here's what mine does over time, drops at night, rises in the day, two probes one in the sump one in the tank, although the tank one is a lab grade probe the other is std they were calibrated at different times, I'm not terribly worried about the pH and no need to adjust with kalk IMO. Although all those little "spike" dips every night makes me wonder what's happening, all my corals are farting at that instant or something

 

[alve]

Mine goes between 8.05 and 8.25. Both my chaeto and live rock section in the sumps are on an opposite light cycle which made a huge improvement in ph not dropping as much at night.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Aldie, that seems to be a better alternative than dripping kalk at night, as there's less potential problems that could occur.

 

[GreshamH]

I run a RDC as well

 

[alve]

Definitely much easier, just a timer to program and that's it. I have never dripped kalk before but I can imagine it can turn out catastrophic if something goes wrong with the dosing. Wasn't this what happened to Thales' tank, too much kalk being dosed in a short time while he was away?

 

[GreshamH]

Rich had a kalk issue but it wasn't due to the device spitting more water out but rather the dry kalk floating into the tank IIRC>

Mine Kalk reactor can never do that. I use a peristaltic pump to deliver push water into my reactor. I employee a check valve prior to the reactor just in case

 

[badbread]

I'm going to try and fab some type of chaeto holder in back of my tank and get one of those mini led lights on a reverse timer to see if that helps. I need to get my chaeto out of my display tank anyways.

 

[Gomer]

Did his kalk dose right after it was stirred so that he basically delivered a suspension of kalk?

 

[GreshamH]

NO, he just added it and it was floating in dry form from what I remember Rich telling me. I bet it just got a glob of pure kalk. I have no idea how quickly his kalk doses though.

 

[badbread]

So I modded the stock media tray in the back chambers to hold chaeto and added one of those swing arm led light bars to it. I set it up on the RK2 to turn on 30 minutes before the MH goes out and turn off 15 mins after the MH goes off. The top chamber has filter floss, the bottom 2 chaeto.

Already the PH is dropping slower than it was before, first chart is same time yesterday, second one is just now:

 

[Elite]

That is pretty cool man..