ORP is gradually getting higher. Should I care?

[bureau13]

So I've had this Neptune Apex controller for maybe a year now. ORP seems to go up and down over the course of a day on a fairly regular cycle which I guess is normal? However, over time, the average value is definitely higher. I'm in the 390-420 range over the course of a day now, and when I started it was mid-300s. I've done many fairly large water changes over that time, and that doesn't seem to change much. Water parameters are generally OK, with the exception of nitrates, which is silly-high, as I've described in other threads. But, that's been the case since I restarted the tank and started using the Apex.

So does this mean anything I should care about? Is there some test you can do to tell if you need a new probe? Neptune advises against calibrating these things, but that seems to have more to do with the required calibration fluid than whether or not the probes actually need it.

FYI I have never used ozone.

 

[cilyjr]

Nope you shouldn't care. Not unless you are pumping ozone.

 

[Pod_01]

If you have not done try to clean the sensor?
I see change in reading when I do it.

 

[Solo McReefer]

Recalibrate the sensor?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

FWIW, ORP never gets too high without dosing oxidizers.

 

[bureau13]

Recalibrate the sensor?

For whatever reason, Neptune recommends against it. Even in the app if you select to do it, they try to talk you out of it. It does appear to be possible, but I don't have the calibration fluids, and based on feedback here, unless I decide at some point to run ozone, I'm not going to worry about it. I think I will try to clean the sensor though, just to see if that might be the cause of the upward trend.

Thanks, everyone, for the feedback!