High pH - Lesson learned

So for a month or so, I've been battling high pH.  I dose alk and calcium and my pH always seemed to creep between 8.2 and 8.5.  I have my controller set to turn off the dosing if the pH gets to high, so sometimes my dosers do not dose enough and my calcium/alkalinity get thrown off.  Anyway, I switched to dosing sodium bicarbonate vs. soda ash and it still didn't help.  Tonight I recalibrate my pH probes and it turns out, my pH is just fine...maybe even a little *gasp* low!  It's toward the end of the light cycle and I'm sitting at 8.09.  My goal is 8.2 - 8.3 so it looks like I can switch back to dosing soda ash.  Long story short, I became too dependent on the results that the pH probe was giving me and as it crept out of proper calibration, I didn't detect it by testing with another method or recalibrating it.  The moral of the story is to remember to recalibrate your probes on occasion.  pH is easy, but temp and ORP are not as if you want to recalibrate temp, you need to make 200% sure that the device used to measure the temp is dead on....and ORP, well, that requires you get this special powder, mix it with the pH calibration fluids and calibrate it that way.  And this powder stuff is expensive and hard to find.
To help combat this, I set up a backup controller on my system.  I'll use it just to monitor pH, ORP and temp, but it will be set up to alert like the other controller is so if I start to see the two give different results, I'll know to investigate.  A head unit and probes can be found on RC pretty cheap....$150 or so.
--AJ

 

Yeah...one more maintenance task to add to the schedule.

For those interested in adding a backup controller to their system, Matt just posted an AC3 with temp and pH probes for $150 (http://www.greateriowareefsociety.org/Community/DiscussionForums/tabid/78/aft/22373/Default.aspx). Relatively inexpensive insurance policy.

--AJ

 

Yeah...very true. I went for an AC3 because I could monitor it remotely and it could alert me if something was off...but if you just want something that you can view when you're near your tank, the AC Jr. is a great option.

--AJ