pH probe calibration and low pH help

[typemismatch]

Howdy

I thought it was probably time to calibrate my reef keeper lite pH probe. I have the Milwaukee 7.01 and 10.01 calibration solutions.

I set the unit to calibrate and left the probe in the 7.01 for about 14 minutes until it stabilized, did the same for the 10.01.

When I put it back in the tank, it's showing my pH being at 7.6??? it can't possibly be that low could it? I mean most tanks generally run around 8/8.05 - mine used to show stable around 8.20.

Any thoughts on why I can't calibrate it?

thanks

 

[bcavalli]

If you want to double check your numbers after you have calibrated your probe, you can stick it back in to the 10.01 solution and see what your reading is. If it's somewhere in the neighborhood of 10 then it's reading correctly.

 

[typemismatch]

Yeah that's what I did - it reads a perfect 10.01 in the higher solution but I don't believe my pH (7.69) could be that low. Without dosing anything I don't know of anything that would naturally drive it so low.

 

[ricky5415]

Try some kalwasser Craig

 

[ricky5415]

Open a door or window on a nice day will help too

 

[danh]

I agree with Ricky - My ph has EVERYTHING to do with the O2 in my house and comparatively very little to do with water changes and kalkwasser dosing.

It's not exactly a small house but I can see it on my Apex when my girls get home from school... then when my wife gets home from work with my son.. Then when my wife, dog and I go to lay down in the bedroom at night where the tank is.

 

[michael grady]

put the probe in glass of fresh rodi water...see f it reads 7.

 

[Adam]

As the concentration of co2 rises in the house the ph of the tank will drop as the tank equalizes with that ellavated co2.
This time of year the house is closed up and between the heater and all the respiration of the occupants drive up the co2.

The only way to combat it is a soda lime reactor, running a line outside for the skimmer or venting the house by opening it up.
I have my system in the basement and I just bought a co2 meter. When I get home from work the co2 is in the low 400's and after I've been down there a couple hours it's in the low 700's. Even with a line run out of the house for the skimmer I'm having a hard time keeping my ph above 8.05. I've been keeping my Alk at 9.5-9.8 by dosing between 8pm and 8am and that isn't helping much, but if I didn't do that it would drop down to the mid 7's. I have a larger skimmer I'm waiting to install and I'm hoping the higher air volume it will use will help push up the ph some more. I really don't want to set up a co2 scrubber due to the on going expense of soda lime. I'll only do it as a last resort.
I also believe the more coral and organisms that photosynthesize in the system will also keep the ph higher as they use up the co2. I just don't have enough in my tank yet.

 

[typemismatch]

Have any of you been outside lately??

Ok so I had to stop running my Kalk reactor while I source a pump, I was using my Osmolator pump and it stopped working so need something else to pump that into the tank.