during the day my ph is at 8.3 but when the night comes the ph drops to like 7.8 there is very little air moving in the room with the tank. its cold where i am now so i need another solution besides keeping the window open at night. please help

I don't remember, do you have a 'fuge? If so are you lighting it at night? That will help keep the pH up.

You could also try to get more agitation at the surface of the water by repositioning a powerhead.

sounds like a plan how long do u recommend i leave the lights on?

i jus realized that since i have a hang on back refugium that keeping the lights on would be a problem

u answered your own question in a round about way, cold air sinks & little air flow, increase with a small fan. i may be speaking out of tune here, i wouldn't be worried about chasing the swing. its is nice to have piece of mind that your PH is stable, so unless your other parameters are swinging wildly id just increase the airflow across the tank! even though it might seem like a large swing its actually a normal proccess that your animals are used to in a round about fashion!. chasing it to fine tune can drive you nuts, just ask wildman, he tried it, & we tried advising for it! better to look at the systems parameters as a whole. if you notice tell-tail signs of levels dropping & causing reactions with others then its time to "test to assess" what you need to "target"

just thinking out loud here

What is your carbonate hardness?

the test kit i have doesnt read in dkh but i know the alkilinity is low according to the color. i was changing the water once a week but i hadnt changed it in a week and a half.

the test kit i have doesnt read in dkh but i know the alkilinity is low according to the color. i was changing the water once a week but i hadnt changed it in a week and a half.
I you keep your alk within proper parameters, your tank will have better pH buffering capacity at night.

This is the normal ebb and flow of Ph in closed systems. 7.8 to 8.3 is nothing to get up tight about. It's caused by carbon dioxide (Co2) build up at night when no photosynthesis is taking place. People compensate for it by lighting their sump alternately from their main display and keeping macro algae in the sump to convert the Co2 to oxygen. It isn't an absolutely necessary thing to do. Millions of aquariums run just fine with out this fine tuning, mine included.

good to see ya back on the air Amp, 3stoodges kicking asshttp://www.alexander-oberg.de/smileys/-47.gif lol

thanx for putting my mind at ease. i dont wanna sound like a nit picker but i dont wanna muck it up early on

good to see ya back on the air Amp, 3stoodges kicking asshttp://www.alexander-oberg.de/smileys/-47.gif lolI've been lurking about in the back ground. We had some friends here from WI, our home town, and they had 4 kids from 7 to 13. That will keep an old man busy.

i can sure imagin with that many kids on red cordial!

whens the next posting of shatter-cast 101 Ampage, because im feeling red hot to utterly decapitate my knowledge again! like a bully that doesn't know how to stay down when the nerd snots him a beauty! lol


daddo, let us know how your other parmeters test & pan out!

i can sure imagin with that many kids on red cordial!

whens the next posting of shatter-cast 101 Ampage, because im feeling red hot to utterly decapitate my knowledge again! like a bully that doesn't know how to stay down when the nerd snots him a beauty! lolIt wasn't the red cordial, it was the sugar shakes the kids were on. :wow: Man, they were hyper at times. Good thing they worked most ot it off in the pool. I just layed back on the lounge with a coolie in hand basking in the - http://www.theculturedreef.com/5.gif.

Yer goin ta haf-ta remind me about shatter-cast 101. This old guy's memory is fadin.

not sure if it was mentioned but getting better air flow will help with CO2 removal and help keep PH stable, i think there was a podcast show (roundtable show i think) where we talked about this

that was the solution i was goin with by opening the window and tonite it will work because its almost 60 degrees for the next three nights but dc weather fluxatuates wildly and by the end of this week it will be below freezing so thats not gonna work

thats a swing in temp daddo. a simple small fan will help regardless!

shatter-cast amp is your tank eddition quiz> its where i show how little this brain maintains info with a lifetime of drinking cat piss> arrr i mean fosters! :D

Pass me a Fosters. Yeah, I'm way behind on my tank thread. I'll post later today. Right now I have to catch some Zzzzzs.