Who really cares about PH? Do you?

[ocarius]

I've been in the business of keeping salt water fish and corals for about 11 months now, having switched from Freshwater.. a hobby I enjoyed was successful at and hardly ever cared about PH... when I got into Salt.. I went at it like a total newbie.. and alot of people told me about PH and it MUST be between 8 and 8.3 to maintain a healthy tank.. but I've started to notice and Im starting to think PH is something that should be carefully ignored... as long as you balance your ALK and Calcium, keep your MAG up.. your PH will stay high enough and stable enough without having to really try.. the reason I say this is because my PH for the last few months has been low, and my ALK has been high, 13 or 14. The last month, I've stopped trying to dose my PH up, and I've watched the ALK drop and then I've stabalized it at 10 to 11, keep my calcium just above 400 and My tank has been great ever since.. I hardly ever see my PH swing up over 8.1, usually staying at 8 and then dipping to a high 7.8 at nights... anybody agree or totally disagree with that approach?

[DC_40gallon]

The only thing I ever watch is Alk, Cal, Salinity and Temp

I am using Mardel strips right now which tests a ton of stuff just because some lady gave them to me for free when I bought her 29 gal tank and stand for $60.

I thought hell, the stips alone are $30 anywhere I look.

[Blown 346]

I used to test for PH religously when my tanks were first setup. Then After the pH didnt change I stopped. I still check it once in a while say once a month, and it stays the same.

[BradMugs]

With a stable environment your pH will stabalize as soon as something gets out of wack your pH will shift. pH testing equipment is the least expensive and easiest thing to use. So, yes I check my pH and when it starts to move I know something else is going bad....

[Korrine]

no I don't really check it anymore. Just alk, sg, temp.

[shaginwagon13]

Originally Posted by DC_40gallon

The only thing I ever watch is Alk, Cal, Salinity and Temp.

+1 As for as im concerned my PH takes care of itself. It has never gone above 8.5 or below 7.9 regardless of what I do so I really don't worry about it and have never seen any problems

[nukemdanno]

Originally Posted by Korrine

no I don't really check it anymore. Just alk, sg, temp.

+2

I also check Mg though.....

Good husbandry goes along way

[dots]

Low pH: Causes and Cures
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.htm

High pH: Causes and Cures
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-03/rhf/index.htm

The Relationship Between Alkalinity and pH.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/may2002/chem.htm

The Chemical & Biochemical Mechanisms of Calcification in Corals
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/apr2002/chem.htm

Problem Dinoflagellates and pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-11/rhf/index.php

[WI reefer55]

its more of stability when it comes to PH

[xJake]

To me, pH is more of an indicator that something else might be wrong. I use a Hanna pHep meter, and if something seems off (coral/fish behavior), the first things I check are salinity, temperature, and pH.

As WI_reefer55 said, with pH (and most other water parameters) it's important to maintain stability (within the range of 7.9-8.5) more than any certain "ideal" number.

[broke1]

If my AC3 didn't keep track of it, I never would. I have one of those rare tanks that runs low ph, 7.8-8.05. I gave up trying to get it higher and to be honest I think my tank has done better without me trying. These things reach their own level of equilibrium, and sometimes they just seem to settle outside of what is considered the norm.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

FWIW, pH and salinity are about the only things I check, but that's just me.

While I agree that there is a pretty big range of acceptable pH, say, 7.8 to 8.5, it is clear from the scientific literature that lower pH can negatively impact the growth of hard corals and other calcifying organisms, and that if the pH is low enough, coral skeletons can actually slowly dissolve. This is the main reason that oceanographers are so concerned about rising CO2 levels and lowering ocean pH. The values that worry them are far higher than the low levels hit in many aquaria.

Excessively low pH can be corrected or offset in a number of ways that are easily accomplished in many systems, assuming it does concern you.

In addition to the articles described above, this one summarizes a lot of the effects and concerns:

The "How To" Guide to Reef Aquarium Chemistry for Beginners, Part 3: pH
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/index.php

from it:

Introduction



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Aquarists spend a considerable amount of time and effort worrying about, and attempting to solve, apparent problems with the pH of their aquaria. Some of this effort is certainly justified, as true pH problems can lead to poor animal health. In many cases, however, the only problem is with the pH measurement or its interpretation.

Several factors make monitoring a marine aquarium's pH level important. One is that aquatic organisms thrive only in a particular pH range, which varies from organism to organism. It is, therefore, difficult to justify a claim that a particular pH range is "optimal" in an aquarium housing many species. Even natural seawater's pH (typically 8.0 to 8.3) may be suboptimal for some of its creatures, but it was recognized more than 80 years ago that pH levels different from those of natural seawater can be stressful to fish. Additional information is now available about optimal pH ranges for many organisms, but the data are inadequate to allow aquarists to optimize pH for most organisms which interest them.

Changes in pH do substantially impact some fundamental processes taking place in many marine organisms. One of the most important of these processes is calcification, or the deposition of calcium carbonate skeletons. Calcification by many organisms is known to depend on pH, dropping as pH falls below normal levels. If the pH is low enough, coral skeletons actually dissolve. Using this type of information, along with the integrated experience of many hobbyists, we can develop some guidelines about what is an acceptable pH range for reef aquaria, and what values push the limits. These recommended ranges are detailed in subsequent sections.

[Playa-1]

I think it's wise to track the pH as it can be an indicator of problems in the tank that need to be addressed. I do not track mine with the intention of controlling it within a tight range. As long as I'm in the 7.8 to 8.5 range then I don't give it a second thought. If I noticed it getting outside of that range then I would be paying closer attention to try and figure out what the problem is.

[Gary Majchrzak]

noobs might not care about pH.
IME most of the long time reefkeepers (especially the SPS crowd) care about pH and monitor it.

[redsea reefer]

I do, a good indicator that something else is also off.

[stanlalee]

I dont check because there is nothing I'm going to do about it regardless of what it test. I have all the flow, air water/surface contact, aeration, light cycle and room circulation I'm going to have. I am not going to balance alk/ca any differently then what I've been doing (such as using kalk or change buffer formulas) so basically its pointless for me to test what I'm not willing to alter the results of. I test alk, ca, mg, phosphates and occasionally nitrates (until it starts consistantly reading undetectable and becomes as pointless as pH testing for me).

[LovinLife]

5 year SW reef keeper.....dont test PH

[moze229]

Keeping mixed reefs since 2000 - haven't tested pH more than a handful of times in 6 or 7 years. I suppose it's poor husbandry on my part, but my method is to watch calcium and alk, add two-part, do 10% weekly water change, and keep media changed out. Haven't had any problems with water chemistry. This is what works for ME - may not work for others.

Of course, I may have had even better results by keeping pH stable. Perhaps it stays stable - I wouldn't know

Matt

[andrewk529]

i've posted this link before,most home aquariums are far more stable than their natural counterparts. i personally think it is pointless to place so much importance on pH from what i've read.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/6/aafeature

[kevantheman35]

i test about once every 1-2 months. if its way off i worry but its not the biggest concern for me

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

i've posted this link before,most home aquariums are far more stable than their natural counterparts. i personally think it is pointless to place so much importance on pH from what i've read.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/6/aafeature


A curious conclusion of yours. What's the basis of it?

That paper shows no measurements of natural systems with a pH below 8, yet many reef tanks do so, dropping down to 7.6 to 7.7 in many cases.

Add that to the fact that oceonographers are truly concerned for the health of natural reef systems simply by the pH dropping to 8.0, and I think your conclusion is suspect.

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

While pH changes considerably in enclosed tide pools, shallow reef flats, and even small bays, the change in the open ocean is much less. And it rarely if ever drops below 7.8.

For example, this is what Dana shows in Figures 7 and 8 which seem to claim to show annual pH variation in 40 feet deep water.

Figure 7. Annual pH swings might seem relatively minor in this chart, but see Figure 8.

Figure 8. When the chart's pH range is decreased, annual modulations become more apparent.





The variation is from pH 8.24 to 8.33. Not much variation relative to a reef tanks which easily range from 7.6 to 8.6. That range for reef tanks is nearly 10 times greater.

[moze229]

Well, I suppose it only makes sense that a smaller volume of water is more likely to fluctuate in pH than a larger one. However, when thinking in terms of reef tanks, compared to the ocean they are less than a drop - less than an atom per se So, seeing that the ocean itself is dropping in pH is a huge cause for concern.

However, can't we sort of conclude that since our reef tanks fluctuate 10X more than the ocean, and the lifeforms within our tanks survive, that perhaps the ocean pH dropping may not be as concerning as first suspected? I know that the life that we have in our tanks is only .0000000000000001 percent of the life that's out there.

Matt

[Michael]

i monitor ph very carefully, i have a probe and also use different test kits as well to determin the level, i also dose kalk and so its even more important for me to know my ph level

[jaythebull]

I don't check PH as often as I check other params. During initial set-up and cycling, I tested frequently.