I have been dealing with very low pH ever since I switched from ESV Bionic 2 part to Tropic Marine Original balling 3 part. Before the switch, my ph used to be between 8.20 high - 7.70 low. However, once I switched to TM Original balling, my pH dropped to a range of 7.8 high to 7.5 low.
I replaced the Neptune pH probe with a pinpoint double junction probe to rule out a faulty probe and started dosing 1300ml of saturated kalk overnight (14 hours). The results have been disappointing. My nighttime low still hits 7.53, and the high never goes above 7.83 (with windows opened for about an hour daily).
I did an aeration test, taking 16oz of water and leaving it on my patio with a bubbler running for 1 hour. I measured the salinity of the cup of water, temp, and pH. Temp: 77.9, salinity: 1.026, and pH: 8.09.
Here are some tank specs:
Real water volume: 18 g
Alkalinity: 8.8 dkh
Salinity: 1.026
Age: 2 years
Daily alk consumption: ~2.4 dkh
Amount of alk dosed: 1300 ml (14 hours, starts dosing during the last hour of light ramp down and the first hour of lights ramping up)
Amount of TM Original balling dose: 12ml
Other dosing: 1ml ESV Nitrate per day
Note: All corals were/are happy regardless of the pH, and PE is also great. I want to know if it is the nature of the balling additive driving down pH or a faulty pH probe.
I replaced the Neptune pH probe with a pinpoint double junction probe to rule out a faulty probe and started dosing 1300ml of saturated kalk overnight (14 hours). The results have been disappointing. My nighttime low still hits 7.53, and the high never goes above 7.83 (with windows opened for about an hour daily).
I did an aeration test, taking 16oz of water and leaving it on my patio with a bubbler running for 1 hour. I measured the salinity of the cup of water, temp, and pH. Temp: 77.9, salinity: 1.026, and pH: 8.09.
Here are some tank specs:
Real water volume: 18 g
Alkalinity: 8.8 dkh
Salinity: 1.026
Age: 2 years
Daily alk consumption: ~2.4 dkh
Amount of alk dosed: 1300 ml (14 hours, starts dosing during the last hour of light ramp down and the first hour of lights ramping up)
Amount of TM Original balling dose: 12ml
Other dosing: 1ml ESV Nitrate per day
Note: All corals were/are happy regardless of the pH, and PE is also great. I want to know if it is the nature of the balling additive driving down pH or a faulty pH probe.