Ph probes issues

madjoe

madjoe

Premium member
Hey so seems like i have a ton of ph probe issues and have to recalibrate way to often and im running two ph probes in the tank a cheap ebay blue one and a difital aquatics ones they both were reading good and they both r reading less then 5 now and both went down at same time . This kinda tells me something is causing probes to uncalibrate if one read good still it be different story. So what can cause this . They r in my sump in a probe holder it is magnetic probe holder but i think most r. Its a reef keeper elite two different sl1 modules any ideas . I can kinda see how people crash tanks with calcium reactors if probes r this unreliable. Maybe im the only one with this issue. Im waiting on ap to get more of the solution in i cant tell u what my ph is at but i doubt its 4.9 considering im running kalk in my ato maybe im wrong idk
 
What are you doing with PH and why do you care about it? Do you make corrections if it's high or low? I'm just curious. ph is the one parameter I NEVER test for or think about.
 
Sawdonkey said:
What are you doing with PH and why do you care about it? Do you make corrections if it's high or low? I'm just curious. ph is the one parameter I NEVER test for or think about.
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Listen theres so many thing going on in my tank right now knowing all the parameters is a good thing . I don't believe i asked the question if anybody thinks testing ph is worth it i asked what could be causing the probe issues i know how every one feels about ph and testing on this forum i was actually hopeing maybe somebody had some useful insight on what could be causeing probe malfunctions as i know im not only person who actually monitors ph and has a reefkeeper. Believe it or not ph issues do occur and brittle sps is a sign and my sps r more brittle then before and with the slime issues that wont die knowing everything about my tank may help me win the battle
 
I actually started keeping my ph and alk high.
My alk is at 11 and ph usually around 8.1-8.45 i do have alarms and actions in place with the rk that if ph drops to bypass the float sensor and add some ato rodi with kalk.
Also if ph raises above a set number the ato pump will not function on its set timer.

That's how id say i monitor ph with kalk use. The question wasnt directed at me but i dont test nor do i worry about it. But for use with kalk i do in case pump gets stuck.

Low ph would be an issue as one of the nutrients can turn into ammonia and suffocating fish although rare can happen.

A lfs ran into this issue with ph in the 5 and killing fish from low oxygen in the water. I suggested adding some kalk to buffer the ph up.

I have a hanna ph tester that i check my probes with and they are usually right. But a drop in ph with two probes may actually mean that they are low.

I would test the ph with a simple api strip or a ph badge or a checker to see if the probes are bad or if there was a true dip.

There was a study with ph in corelation to cyano but i forget its findings...something about it being now healthy to fish
 
xj_matt said:
Hey Joe could have possibly be straight current in the tank causing a malfunction in them just a thought

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Stray
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Take some water out of your display and put one of the probes in the water out of display to check for stray current.
 
Thanks wrasse and xj i will check when i get home i do use a grounding probe but did unplug it for little while to plug in xmas tree
 
xj_matt said:
If you read this it may help, starting at post #9. Hope you can figure out your issue
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1888333
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I read all that seems like thats dif issue i can calibrate mine with out any issues they stay calibrated for few weeks then start to drop. Im not connected with a sid i have a net module. Its also a remotely recent issue i probably had no issue for like 8months kinda started haveing probe issues when the slime issues started another reason im asking the question. Who knows i figure out probe issue i may figure out slime issue at same time
 
wrasse said:
Do you have excess co2 in your home?
If I have a lot of guests I see ph drop.
Maybe Hvac problem.

Check this out , maybe you can troubleshoot your problem more.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/
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I will give this a read now . As for guests theres three of us in the house most the time. Weekends sometimes more but they stay with my dad in basment
There definitely can be to much co2 since house is closed up because its freezing out lol but had the issue while it was nice out too with windows open . And I doubt my ph is at 5 like the probe says . Will give your link a read thanks again
 
Ok so update for those who care to help and want to challenge there brain so i tested ph with api test reads in the 8ish range with api so i recieved my calibration packets today and when i put the probe in 10 solution it reads 10 and in 7 reads 7 so i calibrated it any ways and put back into the tank reads 4.9 then error probably drops to low and out of probes range any who. I tested voltage i took my volt meter and texted about 10 people and asked how to do actual test all said same set on ac touch black probe to ground on outlet or the screw in center . Mine r on the side any who it reads zero i run a ground probe and i screwed the wire directly into the box in case outlet ground hole isnt grounded i have to dig out that tester. So i listened to what was posted i took a cup of tank water and put probe in the cup and it reads 7.59 put back in tank and drops to 4.9 then error lol . Now im not connected to a computer at all even disconnected my net mod either cable. Still same issue and this is not in the probe holder or near any magnets trying to eliminate any possibility of interference. This is a head scratcher for sure
 
madjoe said:
Ok so update for those who care to help and want to challenge there brain so i tested ph with api test reads in the 8ish range with api so i recieved my calibration packets today and when i put the probe in 10 solution it reads 10 and in 7 reads 7 so i calibrated it any ways and put back into the tank reads 4.9 then error probably drops to low and out of probes range any who. I tested voltage i took my volt meter and texted about 10 people and asked how to do actual test all said same set on ac touch black probe to ground on outlet or the screw in center . Mine r on the side any who it reads zero i run a ground probe and i screwed the wire directly into the box in case outlet ground hole isnt grounded i have to dig out that tester. So i listened to what was posted i took a cup of tank water and put probe in the cup and it reads 7.59 put back in tank and drops to 4.9 then error lol . Now im not connected to a computer at all even disconnected my net mod either cable. Still same issue and this is not in the probe holder or near any magnets trying to eliminate any possibility of interference. This is a head scratcher for sure
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So a cup of tank water reads 7.59 but tank reads 4.9?

Sent from my SM-N920P using Tapatalk
 
Hey joe check for cracks in any of you wires on the reefkeeper and probes it could be good at one angle and when you put it back in the sump area open a crack up and messing with your readings just another idea bro worth a shot. Or try moving them where you have them in the sump trying to just think of ways to narrow this down for y.

And also you said you do run a ground probes so no stray current. But if that wasn't checked maybe another peice of equipment is giving off a surge and ****ing with the probes hope some of this helps
 
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It Sounds like a stray Elecrical current problem. Have your ph probe in tank giving the 4.9ish reading.
Then unplug devices one at a time waiting a few minutes to see if the in uplugged device causes the problem.
I would start with heater, auxiliary pumps, life a reactor pump, then power heads. If you have any Suspects like older equipment, used equipment, or knock off eqyipment try those.
Also do a good visual inspection of tank if you have kids around your aquarium look for random stuff I had batteries and flashlights thrown in mine before.
 
gonebad395 said:
Hey joe check for cracks in any of you wires on the reefkeeper and probes it could be good at one angle and when you put it back in the sump area open a crack up and messing with your readings just another idea bro worth a shot. Or try moving them where you have them in the sump trying to just think of ways to narrow this down for y.

And also you said you do run a ground probes so no stray current. But if that wasn't checked maybe another peice of equipment is giving off a surge and ****ing with the probes hope some of this helps
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I checked with and with out ground . So i figured this head ach out lol i went to put the second probe in the cup with the first one and bam both dropped to low then error took second one out of cup and bam instantly back up wtf lol so i put first probe back in tank without second probe and the probe read 7.6 put second probe in tank on other end of sump instantly went down so the probe must of been sending out stray current so obviously i suck with my multimeter go figure lol smh

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wrasse said:
It Sounds like a stray Elecrical current problem. Have your ph probe in tank giving the 4.9ish reading.
Then unplug devices one at a time waiting a few minutes to see if the in uplugged device causes the problem.
I would start with heater, auxiliary pumps, life a reactor pump, then power heads. If you have any Suspects like older equipment, used equipment, or knock off eqyipment try those.
Also do a good visual inspection of tank if you have kids around your aquarium look for random stuff I had batteries and flashlights thrown in mine before.
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Was the dam second ph probe lol
 
gonebad395 said:
Really glade you found it man it's awesome that things are looking up btw what lights are you running
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Lol crazy fukin hobby. In running 8bulb ati t5 fixture and two kessil 150 ocean blue for shimmer

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wrasse said:
So testing for ph has another benefit.
It lets you know if you have stray current.
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Looks like it lol and people say we r stupid for testing ph
 
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