ph is rising after cycling

[knoxtnreef]

my ph is rising quickly after my cycle for a reason i cannot determine. Initally it was low so I added ph up which corrected it by .3. Now the ph is too high therefore i added white vinegar to lower it (this only worked for a few hours). I've since added an aerator since im skimmer-less. This past week alone I've done a 60 and 30% water change. Filter bags containing carbon and phosguard are in sump. I adjusted my lighting firstly by lowering the par across the board, now shortening the time of day they run with no effect. What am I missing here?
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[Member No. 1]

First off I would use a second test kit to verify results.

Adding aeration will help increase pH values. That's why people plumb the air intake of skimmers to the outside to reduce the indoor CO2 from lowering the pH.

Don't add any more additives, and hold off on water changes, stop the aeration, use a second test kit, give it a little time, see if the pH starts to lower.

[knoxtnreef]

Originally Posted by Member No. 1

First off I would use a second test kit to verify results.

Adding aeration will help increase pH values. That's why people plumb the air intake of skimmers to the outside to reduce the indoor CO2 from lowering the pH.

Don't add any more additives, and hold off on water changes, stop the aeration, use a second test kit, give it a little time, see if the pH starts to lower.

thank you, will do this and report back

[thegrun]

How are you testing your pH?

[Timfish]

pH can vary significantly with the respiration of ALL the organisms in a system including the microbial stuff and biofilms on all the surfaces. Daily tepmeratures as well as daily changes in weather will influence changes in pH as well. I only concern myself with long term trends of pH and not day to day or weekly fluctuations. I'd pay a lot more attention to the daily consumption of alkalinity and weekly consumption of alkalinity, calcium and magnesium.

[knoxtnreef]

Originally Posted by thegrun

How are you testing your pH?

I was using a seneye and a API Master Kit. I've removed the Seneye and am installing a Milwaukee MC720. Just havent installed it yet but will report the difference to the seneye soon.

[knoxtnreef]

Originally Posted by Timfish

pH can vary significantly with the respiration of ALL the organisms in a system including the microbial stuff and biofilms on all the surfaces. Daily tepmeratures as well as daily changes in weather will influence changes in pH as well. I only concern myself with long term trends of pH and not day to day or weekly fluctuations. I'd pay a lot more attention to the daily consumption of alkalinity and weekly consumption of alkalinity, calcium and magnesium.

I have a RP-4 but am not using it. I need to implement.

[kurt_n]

I'll politely suggest what I suggested in your other thread... don't chase pH. It's going to be what it's going to be once your tank has stabilized. And just because it's done cycling doesn't mean it's stabilized. Using additives to chase a "perfect" number will just mess things up and make it harder to stabilize your tank.

Without knowing what your lighting cycle is with respect to those times, we can't really comment on your readings. Remember, your pH will swing 0.2 to 0.4 a day, with the lowest being just before the lights come on and the highest just as the lights go off.

[knoxtnreef]

Originally Posted by kurt_n

I'll politely suggest what I suggested in your other thread... don't chase pH. It's going to be what it's going to be once your tank has stabilized. And just because it's done cycling doesn't mean it's stabilized. Using additives to chase a "perfect" number will just mess things up and make it harder to stabilize your tank.

Without knowing what your lighting cycle is with respect to those times, we can't really comment on your readings. Remember, your pH will swing 0.2 to 0.4 a day, with the lowest being just before the lights come on and the highest just as the lights go off.

thank you for the input, i am not offended and it's entirely accurate. The ph controller is mostly for comparisons sake, i do not have enough, or really anything at all in the tank to start dosing for ph. That said, I have no plans to use the controller portion of the MW in the beginning. I have just found the seneye to be inaccurate in all aspects and felt it wasnt worth the money so i returned it. With that out of the way, the RP-4 is also not being used for dosing currently, with the exception of a top-off based on my evaporation rate. I work from home so it's easy for me to keep an eye on it.
My AI Prime is currently only running 4hrs a day since it's basically pointless to run lights this early in a tanks life. I will however provide my pre-configured lighting specs for my future LPS plans:

as follows:
UV: 70%
Violet: 70%
Royal: 90%
Blue: 90%
Green:5%
Deep Red:0%
Moon:0%
Cool White:70%

Schedule is 10:30am-2:00pm with a acclimation intensity of 20%

[Vinny Kreyling]

Leave the lights OFF things will balance out & you will get less algae.
Many suggest months without lights as long as there are no corals.