How exactly do you regulate pH?

[Banik]

Howdy, I was just curious how pH is regulated? I'm setting up a 55 reef setup now, and I want to know if there's anything else I need to get, etc.

Thanks

 

[darb2]

The natural pH of aragonite sand and lr is about 8.2. If you use them, pH is rarely a problem. Also salt mix right out of the container is usually spot on.

 

[alarmguy66]

Ive got to say I havent checked my PH in about 6 months. I found that the PH of the water used in my changes was always consistent, so I stopped checking.

I know, Im a Baaaaaaaaaad Man.

 

[malkore]

Well, pH varies during hte day anyhow, so if you do religiously test it, you need to take that into account (early morning, pH will be lower than late in the day, as CO2 will build up overnight, dropping pH, and then get consumed when the lights come on and the algae sucks CO2 back up).

I too am not good about testing pH. pH is one of those things i assume is 'good' because i have argonite sand, and do regular water changes with proper salinity of water.
But the long and the short of it is that using argonite based sand should eliminate the need to mess with your pH. If you use tap water, you could run into problems, which is why I always suggest R/O water for a salt tank...you have neutral water that'll accept thet pH and buffering that your salt mix provides.

 

[phases99]

Your PH is greatly infuenced by your KH. The normal biological activity in your tank will tend to lower your PH if your water is not properly buffered. You want to keep your KH around 8-12 dKH. This should help your PH to stabilize in the 8.2-8.4 range.

 

[Heineken]

Forgive my ignorance, but what is R/O water?

 

[Banik]

Reverse osmosis. Filtered, basically. It'll also be called RO/DI water if it's also been deionized.

Thanks for the answers folks.