stable ph or alk

SeeFu

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I've always dosed kwalk at a constant rate throughout the date. THis has allowed my alk to stay nearly rock stable throughout the day. I might get a 0.1 swing up or down during the day. My PH does swing a bit more though, usuall y from 8.1 to 8.4. I've been thinking about changing my kwalk dosing schedule to only dosing at night to try to get my PH stable. This will obviously affect my alk stability. Is there any benefit to having a rock steady ph vs alk or vice versa?
 

Dkmoo

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Its always better to be more stable but your current pH swing is not bad so I wouldn't sacrifice alk stability for pH stability for the kind of levels/swings you are seeing.

Plus there are other methods to address pH swing than changing your dosing sch.
1) fuge on opposite light sch.
2) co2 scrubber with solenoid that kicks in either at night , or when pH falls below 8.3
3) open some windows at night to reduce ambient room co2 level
4) hold your breathe at night.
 

nukemdanno

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Its always better to be more stable but your current pH swing is not bad so I wouldn't sacrifice alk stability for pH stability for the kind of levels/swings you are seeing.

Plus there are other methods to address pH swing than changing your dosing sch.
1) fuge on opposite light sch.
2) co2 scrubber with solenoid that kicks in either at night , or when pH falls below 8.3
3) open some windows at night to reduce ambient room co2 level
4) hold your breathe at night.
Plus one to all of the above except #4 :p
I dose Kalk every 2 hours from midnight to 8am small 50ml doses to help keep ph stable at night
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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IMO, the answer as to the relative benefits of pH stability vs alkalinity stability has not been clearly answered.

Alkalinity stability is much easier to attain, and many folks see clear benefits from that with certain rapidly calcifying corals.
 

JCM

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you can also run an air line outside from your skimmer to increase PH. I don't think your current swing is bad though, 8.1 for your low is better than a lot of tanks.
 

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