Comprehensive Article About pH- Manta Systems Article

[Tamara Marshall]

New Article Release!

"Improving pH Understanding in Saltwater Aquarium"

pH swings got you (and your corals) feeling uneasy? You’re not alone. Understanding and maintaining stable pH is one of the trickiest parts of saltwater aquarium care—but it’s also one of the most important.

This article breaks down the science of pH in simple terms and explores practical ways to improve and stabilize your system’s pH—without overcorrecting or chasing numbers. From gas exchange and lighting cycles to dosing strategies and equipment upgrades, we’ve got you covered.

What You'll Discover:

• What pH really means in the context of your reef tank
• Common causes of low or fluctuating pH
• Actionable steps to raise and stabilize pH safely

Read the Full Article Here: https://www.mantasystems.net/a/blog/post/pH

A better understanding of pH means healthier fish, happier corals, and fewer headaches. Let’s get balanced!

 

[jda123]

I know that you love it when I chime in, but you hit one of the two keys for stable pH in surface agitation, which is covered. The other, is the co2 level in the home which is overlooked by many and probably deserves half of the content in any article since it is SOOOO easy to fix and nearly ALL of the problem.

I suggest that you recommend a decent co2 meter with a NDIR sensor - this is the best money that people can spend well ahead of buffers, co2 scrubbers, soda lime, etc.. Inkbird has one for about $65 on Amazon that is plenty good for what we need as hobbyists. Keep that indoor co2 less than 500 and you need to run pure acid into the tank to have the pH not be good. Once the co2 gets over 600/800, the pH starts to drop in any tank. Atmospheric co2 is about 400... used to be about 300 before the industrial revolution, so we can see why the oceans are more acidic.

People whine and complain about their AC or heating bill, but you don't have to cool/heat your home - you just have to exchange air. You can find cooler/warmer times to do this any time of year. It is like when your nasty buddy cuts a fart in the car and you have to roll the windows down for a second - even in a snowstorm, you don't have to get cold to exchange the air. You can air out your home for pennies of natural gas in the winter, but people spend hundreds on a reactor and soda lime.

This also does wonders for humans. Had a dude on reef2reef write me after I recommended this - he had multiple pills, sleeping devices and everything because he was not sleeping well for almost a year with massive headaches, but when he got a co2 monitor for his reef tank, his indoor co2 was like 2500+. He felt better instantly and slept better that very night when he exchanged the air in his house.

Indoor co2 over 800 is a hazard for humans in schools, workplaces, etc. Most of the talk about tryptophan in turkey causing sleepiness is more likely linked to high co2 with all of the people in the home - having guests over can raise our from about 450 to over 1500 in a few hours... so time to open some doors.