Stable ph vs a higher peak

[jonone]

So after being able to raise my ph using air and dosing ph plus
Another question has come to me
My low now is 8.2 in the morning before the lights come on and rises to about 8.4 at the end of the light on period
I’m running the air continuous and the dosing is spread through out the 24hrs every 4 hrs roughly

So it seems if I turn the air off during the day when the lights come on the ph will stay at 8.2 but I don’t get the 8.4 peak
So In theory I could turn it back on again when the lights go out and maintain a ph of 8.2

So my question is, is a stable ph of 8.2 more preferable then a low of 8.2 and a high of 8.4?

The other plus points of only running air in the lights out hrs are:
I’m drawing in outside air so hot outside air temperature will be reduced
Pollution will be reduced seeing as more car activity in the day / pesticide spraying in the day
Less electricity

Obvs I need to see if it does actually hold 8.2….

 

[Chuck_e]

Your pH will naturally increase during the day due to photosynthesis and then drop off when the lights are off. Here's mine:

Consistency and how the tank looks are more important than a specific number. The tank will tell you what's the right place to be...

 

[FishLvR]

So after being able to raise my ph using air and dosing ph plus
Another question has come to me
My low now is 8.2 in the morning before the lights come on and rises to about 8.4 at the end of the light on period
I’m running the air continuous and the dosing is spread through out the 24hrs every 4 hrs roughly

So it seems if I turn the air off during the day when the lights come on the ph will stay at 8.2 but I don’t get the 8.4 peak
So In theory I could turn it back on again when the lights go out and maintain a ph of 8.2

So my question is, is a stable ph of 8.2 more preferable then a low of 8.2 and a high of 8.4?

The other plus points of only running air in the lights out hrs are:
I’m drawing in outside air so hot outside air temperature will be reduced
Pollution will be reduced seeing as more car activity in the day / pesticide spraying in the day
Less electricity

Obvs I need to see if it does actually hold 8.2….

Why are you chasing ph? My old tank ran at 7.9 with no issues. So I gave up chasing it. If you are having issues then maybe it's worth chasing. But I wouldn't. Only way I'd run a line for outside air is for my finis if I decided to do the waste away method.

 

[rishma]

My opinion, it’s not much (if any) benefit to stay at constant pH though it’s certainly not bad.

I’ve see some setups where people have a 3-way valve to control air through at CO2 scrubber and they control pH in a tight range.

In theory with perfect aeration the pH of the tank would not change at all, however, I’ve not been able to achieve this. It would be a mind boggling amount of aeration.

When lights are on, I think calcification happens more so the higher average pH might lead to more growth if that was the goal.

Also in theory if pH was perfectly stable alkalinity demand would be more consistent throughout the light period.

I find with a consistent swing in pH the daily alk demand is consistent. This is a main benefit I see of the outdoor aeration. I don’t have lower alkalinity consumption when windows are closed or house is full of people.

I choose to let the pH swing. I could have my air pump controlled by my pH probe but choose not to.

It would be a fine experiment.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

So my question is, is a stable ph of 8.2 more preferable then a low of 8.2 and a high of 8.4?

….

The answer may depend on what criteria is used for “preferable” and for many criteria it likely is not well established.

If hard coral growing faster is the criteria, I expect 8.2 to 8.4 is preferable to steady 8.2.

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

I scrub, but I recirculate. My tank is in the basement. If you end up scrubbing (and I dont think a ph of 8.1-8.2 requires it), either pull air from outside if possible or recirculate to save a boat load of money. Recirculating comes with a whole set of risks though.

 

[bubbgee]

Why are you chasing ph? My old tank ran at 7.9 with no issues. So I gave up chasing it. If you are having issues then maybe it's worth chasing. But I wouldn't. Only way I'd run a line for outside air is for my finis if I decided to do the waste away method.

pH is not an issue for soft coral tanks. It IS an issue for SPS and LPS tanks, especially SPS tanks. I've lost many frags from pH swings going down to 7.6 when they are used to 8.0 from their mother colonies at the store. I stopped losing SPS once I was able to average to 8.0 via kalk dosing at night.