Johnseye
Member
Utilizing a controller like the Apex makes monitoring and tracking water parameters easier. It allows me to view fluctuations day to day, not only through the probes but also through the logs. Since doing this over the past year I've attempted to nail down my parameters to exact settings.
Temp - 79
PH - 8.2
Alk - 8
Calcium - 420
Salinity - .026
I check phos and mag every month or so to make sure I'm ok and they've never been out of line.
In the winter my heaters keep the temp steady. I don't run a chiller so if I'm not running my A/C the temp can fluctuate from about 79 to 84. If it starts climbing above 81 I immediately turn on the A/C. Temp will also have an effect on salinity.
PH and Alk are the most fluctuating parameters. PH bounces between 8.1 and 8.5. Alk between 7.5 and 8.6. The daily fluctuations are minor, but over the course of a week or two they could hit top and bottom on those numbers depending. Depending on what is a big question. I purchased a DOS and am dialing in on my Alk and Calc supplements but still have fluctuations. The only thing I can think of is that I use kalk in my ATO and maybe a little higher concentration of kalk water pumps through at certain times. It is a peristaltic ATO pump so it's never a lot at once.
My calcium is fairly stable between 420-450 but even that fluctuates.
What has your experience been with dialing in these parameters and how stable have you been able to get them?
Here's an example of the fluctuations I see over a week. The red line is PH and the orange is ORP. You can see they are in synch with each other. There doesn't appear to be a synch with PH and salt, temp or time of day. Notice the waves where PH increases. What could be the cause of these fluctuations? Please ignore the spike where I did a water change and stupidly left the ATO on which pumped kalk in. Luckily my livestock is forgiving of quick spikes like that.
I wonder if those swings in PH are tied into when kalk is coming in through the ATO. The ATO is through a perestaltic pump and very slow throughout the day, but the water has to reach a certain level to trigger the pump and doesn't stop until the level is back to standard.
View attachment 11883
Temp - 79
PH - 8.2
Alk - 8
Calcium - 420
Salinity - .026
I check phos and mag every month or so to make sure I'm ok and they've never been out of line.
In the winter my heaters keep the temp steady. I don't run a chiller so if I'm not running my A/C the temp can fluctuate from about 79 to 84. If it starts climbing above 81 I immediately turn on the A/C. Temp will also have an effect on salinity.
PH and Alk are the most fluctuating parameters. PH bounces between 8.1 and 8.5. Alk between 7.5 and 8.6. The daily fluctuations are minor, but over the course of a week or two they could hit top and bottom on those numbers depending. Depending on what is a big question. I purchased a DOS and am dialing in on my Alk and Calc supplements but still have fluctuations. The only thing I can think of is that I use kalk in my ATO and maybe a little higher concentration of kalk water pumps through at certain times. It is a peristaltic ATO pump so it's never a lot at once.
My calcium is fairly stable between 420-450 but even that fluctuates.
What has your experience been with dialing in these parameters and how stable have you been able to get them?
Here's an example of the fluctuations I see over a week. The red line is PH and the orange is ORP. You can see they are in synch with each other. There doesn't appear to be a synch with PH and salt, temp or time of day. Notice the waves where PH increases. What could be the cause of these fluctuations? Please ignore the spike where I did a water change and stupidly left the ATO on which pumped kalk in. Luckily my livestock is forgiving of quick spikes like that.
I wonder if those swings in PH are tied into when kalk is coming in through the ATO. The ATO is through a perestaltic pump and very slow throughout the day, but the water has to reach a certain level to trigger the pump and doesn't stop until the level is back to standard.
View attachment 11883