Crashing ph.....what just happened?

[wantsummora acropora]

Yesterday I was fooling around in Neptune Fusion when I noticed my ph slowly dropping. Over the course of a few hours it dropped from 8.06 to 6.93. I hadn't made any changes to the tank. I topped the tank off because it needed it and my ph shot up to 8.08 and it's stayed around that ever since. Can someone tell me what just happened?

 

[Adam]

How does everything look in the tank?

Have you rebooted the Apex?

 

[sharis100]

Did you check your probe? Sometimes APEX probes need to be recalibrated or replaced.

 

[Steve Burton]

Did the probe come out of the water? And back in with the top-off?

 

[wantsummora acropora]

How does everything look in the tank?

Have you rebooted the Apex?

I have 5 fish, 2 shrimp and a handful of hermit crabs. All look good and healthy. Did not reboot apex. The probe is 4 months old but I did recalibrate it a few months ago.

 

[wantsummora acropora]

Probe stayed in the water. Nothing changed. ph just started to drop for some reason.

 

[wantsummora acropora]

Did you check your probe? Sometimes APEX probes need to be recalibrated or replaced.

yeah, I did. and it's only 4 months old anyway.

 

[sharis100]

yeah, I did. and it's only 4 months old anyway.

I have had to replace new probes before

 

[Adam]

Could just have been some debris lodged in the end of the probe. It came loose and the reading went back up.

 

[gill]

I am not an expert on reef chemistry, but I am not sure you even need to check pH on the tank you are describing. The fish will be fine. You don't appear to have corals or sensitive invertebrates. I have definitely learned in this hobby that testing is important, but has fairly limited utility, mainly in helping to diagnose a clear problem you can see with your eyes. If the tank looks great, don't chase numbers. Life finds a way.

 

[wantsummora acropora]

All indications point toward my Apex probe being off even though I've recalibrated it 3 times in 5 months. Two test kits say it's at 8.2. Thanks for the input.