Using Baking Soda Question

Keith M · 06-12-2007, 03:33 PM

Hello Everyone,

My tank is 3 1/2 years old & lately my PH keeps droping off to 7.6 / 7.8. This started after I bought a new RO/DI. I do 10% water changes weekly. Should I use baking soda to bring the PH up & how much at a time....or any other ideas. I'm thinking this because Kent DKH Superbuffer in Canada is expensive.

Thanks, Keith

Fly Guy · 06-12-2007, 04:05 PM

A few things.

How are you testing your PH?? Baking soda is fine to use, and thats what I use, Kent superbuffer is just expensive baked sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) anyway.

What is your alkalinity testing at and how are you testing?

Baking soda doesnt necessarily raise your PH......at least not directly. It raises your alkalinity. If your low ph was a result of something not related to your alkalinity, and your alkalinity was already high, and then you added more, you would be then be causing another problem.

To be sure...you very well might just have low alkalinity......but defintely need to know those other things

Keith M · 06-12-2007, 04:18 PM

Thanks for the reply Fly Guy, I have a Pinpoint PH meter (peice of crap) I calibrate it all the time and makes no difference. Actually its always been .5 off. I do a hagen high PH test and they pretty well match. I'll do a alk test and go from their. You did answer my question about Kent DKH Superbuffer and is just as I suspected....exspensive baking soda.

Again thanks, Keith

Tasher80 · 06-12-2007, 04:31 PM

How old is your PH probe? They do wear out if they won't calibrate anymore. Pinpoint makes a great PH meter. Are you using both calibration solutions and rinsing in between the solution tests?

Keith M · 06-12-2007, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tasher80

How old is your PH probe? They do wear out if they won't calibrate anymore. Pinpoint makes a great PH meter. Are you using both calibration solutions and rinsing in between the solution tests?

The probe is about 1 1/2 years old. Yes, I do rinse it between calibration. I went back to the LFS that I bought it from and tested it agains his working meters on there tanks and ALL of them were off. We could not make 1 Pinpoint meter accurate. The part that scared me was that I was believing the meter. I dont trust it and always check it with a manual test to be safe.

Thanks for the input, Keith

tdwyatt · 06-12-2007, 10:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Keith M

The probe is about 1 1/2 years old. Yes, I do rinse it between calibration. I went back to the LFS that I bought it from and tested it agains his working meters on there tanks and ALL of them were off. We could not make 1 Pinpoint meter accurate. The part that scared me was that I was believing the meter. I dont trust it and always check it with a manual test to be safe.

Thanks for the input, Keith

18 months is about the most you can expect out of any probe, they work by exchanging ions through an ion-selective barrier and a KCL solution inside the probe. Eventully the KCl solution becomes so diluted that it cannot generate the current accurately that the meter reads to determine what the calibration should be. If you use the borax test to check your meter, it will tell you if your probe is bad or not. If you canot read 9.18+ 0,02 pH units, then you need to replace the probe (as I imagine your LFS should as well.

Just as a reference, I keep a batch of buffer standards ready to go and test my probes with the borax test at least once a month. All my probes are currently at about 3 months without recalibration (all Pinpoionts, all less than 1 year old) and pass the borax test. I have been using the meter I have now for many years, but have replaced the probes several times as they reach the end of their life expectancy. Even when they go past 18 months (I have had one go 26 months and still pass the borax test), they will be fairly close for a while, but 18 months is about it. I document the test results for the probes and when I acquire them, so I am confident with the quality of these probes and the meters. These ar one of the few products in this category on the market that I can say this about.

Sorry you're having problems, I would speak with some of the folks at American Marine, I think they will be recommending that you get a new probe. It doesn't hurt to check the batteries as well, as when the batteries go low, the responses get screwy. If you have a neptune or x10 in the same area, they will skew responses as well, as the probe wire picks up RF and interprets it as additional response from the probe.

HTH

ChilisREasy · 06-13-2007, 12:22 AM

honestly..& ill get alot of bad rap over this....baking soda CANT be good...in the long run...really..

Fly Guy · 06-13-2007, 12:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChilisREasy

honestly..& ill get alot of bad rap over this....baking soda CANT be good...in the long run...really..

No bad rap will be given here. But I will say that if i DIDNT dose 100 ml a day of alk(baking soda) on one tank, and 250 ml a day on the other.......that all of my stonies would be very unhappy....along with everything in the tank.........unhappy to say the least, dead would probably be more accurately put.

lemonheadmech · 06-13-2007, 07:14 AM

Hate to ask, but does anyone have an a link that explains this baking soda thing for someone whos never used that method? Thanks

tdwyatt · 06-13-2007, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChilisREasy

honestly..& ill get alot of bad rap over this....baking soda CANT be good...in the long run...really..

Just curious, why do you say this?

Adnuces · 06-13-2007, 10:25 AM

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-02/rhf/index.php

an easy cheap two part additive using you guessed it......baking soda

lemonheadmech · 06-13-2007, 01:19 PM

Thanks for the link: I understand now said the blind man!

WilyGuy · 06-13-2007, 01:24 PM

But it does such a good job making sure my corals don't smell like onion

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChilisREasy

honestly..& ill get alot of bad rap over this....baking soda CANT be good...in the long run...really..