Hanna testers

[shakacuz]

There's no reason to want to lower that pH, and lowing the alk a little will have only a small impact on the pH.

Target alk for alk purposes, not for pH purposes, unless you have seriously low pH (below pH 7.8).

for the most part, i've come to conclusion that either i have faulty equipment (hanna egg), reagent that has gone bad somehow (expiration date is still within range), or my indoor air is not good (haven't measured for this). i have already increased aeration in my tank with increasing air pump in the sump, skimming wet, and increasing GPH of my return (which i am believing is the reason why i was able to read a lower # in my recent tests)

i try to keep alk at 8-8.5 as this is where most of my corals have shown best growth. the reason my alk went up to 9 was due to all for reef.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

for the most part, i've come to conclusion that either i have faulty equipment (hanna egg), reagent that has gone bad somehow (expiration date is still within range), or my indoor air is not good (haven't measured for this). i have already increased aeration in my tank with increasing air pump in the sump, skimming wet, and increasing GPH of my return (which i am believing is the reason why i was able to read a lower # in my recent tests)

i try to keep alk at 8-8.5 as this is where most of my corals have shown best growth. the reason my alk went up to 9 was due to all for reef.

What issue are you trying to correct with that action? A pH of 8.4?

 

[shakacuz]

What issue are you trying to correct with that action? A pH of 8.4?

Obtain stable pH within the "recommended" range of 8.1-8.3. More specifically during the winter when I don't have windows open/fans going/AC's on. within the last 2-3 months pH has been really inconsistent which I believe has halted growth in my tank. first i thought it was test error, now i am thinking perhaps the air around the DT is just not clean/within range?

 

[Cool tangs]

Obtain stable pH within the "recommended" range of 8.1-8.3. More specifically during the winter when I don't have windows open/fans going/AC's on. within the last 2-3 months pH has been really inconsistent which I believe has halted growth in my tank. first i thought it was test error, now i am thinking perhaps the air around the DT is just not clean/within range?

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

I wouldn't stress about 8.4, sounds good to me. I can't imagine your PH dropping too much more in the winter

 

[Reeferbadness]

Hanna makes good Phos and Alk checkers. Their calcium checker is a disaster and unless you get the exact amount of tank water with the special device they give you - which is nearly impossile, you will not get an accurate reading. Go back to Sailfert for Calcium.

 

[shakacuz]

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rhf/

I wouldn't stress about 8.4, sounds good to me. I can't imagine your PH dropping too much more in the winter

it has read the blinking 8.6 on the hanna egg which brought me to user error, but it was very consistent over a span of over a month... only VERY recently did it read lower(8.4) which then brought me to the air around the DT just not being clean

i will be testing water again as per usual this upcoming sunday.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Obtain stable pH within the "recommended" range of 8.1-8.3. More specifically during the winter when I don't have windows open/fans going/AC's on. within the last 2-3 months pH has been really inconsistent which I believe has halted growth in my tank. first i thought it was test error, now i am thinking perhaps the air around the DT is just not clean/within range?

That's not the range I recommend and I would not do anything to get into that range from pH 8.4.

pH 8.4 does not reduce growth of corals compared to pH 8.3.

There's no chance the pH of 8.4 is caused by "bad air" around the tank. Unless you live in a greenhouse, indoor air is not ever a cause of high pH because it is always the same as, or higher in CO2, than is outside air.

Your pH may or may not be accurate, but it's fine as is if accurate.

 

[shakacuz]

That's not the range I recommend and I would not do anything to get into that range from pH 8.4.

pH 8.4 does not reduce growth of corals compared to pH 8.3.

There's no chance the pH of 8.4 is caused by "bad air" around the tank. Unless you live in a greenhouse, indoor air is not ever a cause of high pH because it is always the same as, or higher in CO2, than is outside air.

Your pH may or may not be accurate, but it's fine as is if accurate.

thank you, that's very reassuring. i am not concerned about the 8.4 reading, but more so the consistently over 8.6 reading i've gotten which i understand is more user error/faulty equipment or reagents as i am confident in my ALK testing..

i'll go get another ph tester to compare to the hanna egg. any recommendation on something within the 40-100$ range?

 

[Mikedawg]

I check my Checkers, lol, using the standards/calibration solutions that Hanna produces. They are a relatively cheap and easy to use method to increase confidence in your test results.

Good luck

 

[EZDive]

I just realized that I am dealing with this same issue. I have tested my ph with several different devices including a Milwaukee probe, a hand-held Hanna checker, and the white egg Hanna checker. For example, I get 8.0 from (immediately calibrated right before the check) both the Milwaukee and the Hanna hand-held but blinking 8.6 with the Hanna white egg checker (blinking meaning that the ph is higher than 8.6). I also purchased calibration vials and verified that the egg itself was accurate leading me to believe that the reagent that the checker came with is bad. I'm going to purchase a new reagent to see if I just happen to buy a bad batch but if it's still not reading a ph that matches the other methods, I'm thinking that this Hanna egg is just not worth placing any faith in.