Do you guys use anything in paticular to keep PH stable? Do you find a need to do this or does this not worry you? If it does what do you use and how much. I have a 600 gallon system and currently use nothing. PH is stable but i feel i should add something to makle sure it stays that way. Just don't know what to add and how much of it.
Keeping PH stable
- Thread starter jim barry
- Start date
A drop in ph throughout the course of a week is normal. How much depends on water change schedule and amount of stock. It's usually nothing to worry about depending on how much the drop is. Sometimes tampering with it, makes it worse. I'm only speaking in general here, not specifically about Rays.
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Thats exactly what i am thinking but i read about people having PH crashes and i wonder if i should do something to help prevent this from happening?
The easiest thing to do is measure your water's Kh. That will tell you how much buffering capacity you have and therefore how likely the pH is to crash. You can measure the source water then measure the tank at specific intervals, say every 2 or 3 days. If the Kh is dropping measurably over the course of time you can draw up a graph and get a very good idea of when the pH will start to drop.
My source water Kh is only about 3 degrees of hardness so I have no choice but to buffer my water, which I do by adding sodium bicarbonate frequently.
Check kh. If its low then it may be good to buffer it either with sodium bicarbonate or with crushed coral. I found that my bio load was so heavy that it was stripping my tank of kh and dropping ph in no time.
I do nothing and it stays consistent - i use HMA drip however.
As mentioned it's normal to dip towards the need for a water change, i believe wood pulls it down and crushed coral brings it up?
As mentioned it's normal to dip towards the need for a water change, i believe wood pulls it down and crushed coral brings it up?
if it ain't broke don't fix it..
but on that note my rays where in very hard water and did very well ( we moved since then)... I recently had some trouble w/ our pool set-up and lost 2 or our 3 rays... sold the last ray.. and added aragonite sand to our new sump set-up to buffer it as well. not sure if PH swings where part of the issue but the pool is now stabilized between that and an upgrade in filtration/flow. We will be adding new rays down the line but plan on making sure this set-up is matured threw this winter at least. I'm sure there is plenty to argue one way or the other on the issue.
but on that note my rays where in very hard water and did very well ( we moved since then)... I recently had some trouble w/ our pool set-up and lost 2 or our 3 rays... sold the last ray.. and added aragonite sand to our new sump set-up to buffer it as well. not sure if PH swings where part of the issue but the pool is now stabilized between that and an upgrade in filtration/flow. We will be adding new rays down the line but plan on making sure this set-up is matured threw this winter at least. I'm sure there is plenty to argue one way or the other on the issue.