pH always dropping

I think the calc reactor Improved my alkalinity, thus compensating for increased CO2 and even naturally low ph

 

I was using ARM media it says it has carbonate in it as well, isn't carbonate responsible for alkalinity?
that may be the reason

 

Re-think......Here is an excerpt from the article here.
"Calcium utilization by corals is a dynamic process influenced by many factors. As the biological demand for calcium increases, so does the need to maintain alkalinity. When supplementing calcium levels, hobbyists need to monitor aquarium alkalinity as well. Calcium and alkalinity have a unique relationship, where the concentration of one affects the other. For example, if aquarium alkalinity is too high, then calcium levels tend to fall as calcium precipitates out of solution. Conversely, if the calcium level is too high (over 500 ppm), then there is a tendency for alkalinity to drop."
Reef Care & Calcium Supplementation: Proper Calcium Supplementation in Reef Aquariums

 

I don't need to rethink, that's exactly what I said.

"The concentration of one doesn't affect the other unless you're getting precipitation." -paraphrased

"The only time cal has a direct effect on alk is when there's an overabundance of calcium, in which case you can get precipitation of both calcium and alk." - 3/4 of what you quoted

 

Yes, yes....IF cal is too high it may precipitate. Cal and Alk work together, it is elementary.

 

They do work to balance each other, but that only happens when the numbers are outside of normal bounds. It's not a direct "raise calcium, it will change your alk". If anything, adding calcium brings you closer to the tipping point where they will both precipitate (as one doesn't precipitate alone), and the only thing you can do by adding calcium is lower alkalinity, not raise it.

 

Yeah, you all don’t always get me – My boss once described a foreign delegate working for our company doing business on our soil and asked me why that’s a bad thing…I said “PE” and left it at that. She flipped out and said you can’t offer an answer without explanation.

On this thread the originator posted of an issue with daily fluctuating of PH – now mind you, all tanks fluctuate….but .5 range was to discussed. Someone jumped on raising calcium without explaining why – nor with paying any attention to the fact it couldn’t be low calcium. Unless you think his calcium drops during the day and spikes at night and not explaining the relationship.

Now as this thread has grown and I took a back seat to see how it would develop a tell tail statement was made – 3 day water change schedule of 20-30% -- yikes ! ok, lets cut that back to 10-15% once a week and see where we are at.

Also, there is NO need to buffer your water. Now, are you using tap water or RO/DI ? Any chance you can switch to RO/DI if you are using tap? If not – I suggest a water conditioner and no buffer until the water is in the tank…buffer the entire tank on a schedule per the bottle directions, not the make-up water. I suspect you will be doing much better in no time at all.

 

If youre running a fuge with cheato, make sure the lights are opposite. I've seen that to cause ph to lower

 

LOL -- to lower or stabilize and why? ..... read my post above -- I like the comment in general (perhaps not to this specific thread, but perhaps...we'll see) -- but in general lets get an understanding of this. This might make my Friday night question !

Edit: ….seriously, my Friday night karma question was going to be focused on this topic – now I need to come up with another….at least I have all week.

Lets nutshell it – tell us about PH, CO2, Oxygen and algae in 100 words or less !

 

I've heard and read many times over the years that running the lights (display / fuge) on opposite schedules will help in keeping ph in chk. That if you run them together it can drop ph. I may be wrong, but I've read it on several occasions.