# PH controller



## Suzanne (Mar 11, 2006)

I also just recently acquired a Milwaukee SMS 122 PH controller/monitor.

Here's my question - I have the solenoid plugged into the monitor so that the CO2 goes on and off accordingly - day and night - is this ok - prior to this the CO2 was always off during the night - 

everyone in the tank adjusted just fine - I didn't change the PH much - just lowered it a little bit to 6.9 instead of 7 - I have one pearl gouramis who's at the top sucking oxygen a little bit more frequently


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## holocron (Mar 12, 2006)

Sounds like Stan might be your man in this case. He just purchased the same item and I'm sure he's been playing around with it  

6.9 seems like a very very reasonable PH to have, I doubt you are overdosing the tank with CO2, unless of course your KH is high. What is it currently?

My tank runs at around 6.6 PH with KH around 4 which gives me about a 30ppm of CO2.

With a PH controller you *must* watch you KH, beacuse that's one of the first things that could go wrong. For example if your KH skyrocketed from 4 to 10 and you PH controller was set to 6.6 the controller would load your tank full of CO2 ( 30ppm to 75ppm ) and probably choke your fish. Your plants would be happy 

For my own nerves I run an airstone along with my pressurized until I know exactly how much I am putting in there and the proper rate, etc. I am waiting to see the plants pearl, then i'll probably shut off the air pump.

HTH!


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## Plant Crazy (Mar 24, 2006)

Hi Suzanne,

Yep, just setup the Milwaukee SMS 122 controller the other day (also from aquariumplants.com). I agree with Matt. If your pH is only going down to 6.9 during the evening, then you're probably fine. In comparison, my tank pH usually runs at about 6.7. I'd suggest taking a sample of tank water in the evening, measure the pH, then let it sit for at least 12 hrs, then recheck the pH. If the difference in pH is less than 1 point, then you know your CO2 is not too high (i.e., it's less than 30 ppm).

As Matt also mentioned, it's important to make sure that your kH is at least 3-4. The reason is that if kH gets too low (ie., too little bicarbonate in the water, which could be caused by excess organic acids in the water), then there is not as much buffering capacity in the water. Theoretically this could cause a pH crash if the CO2 injected is too high. I have placed a sack of crushed coral in my cannister filter, and this serves to increase both the kH (bicarbonate) and GH (calcium). This is nice safety measure that prevents my KH from getting too low (usually stays constant at 5.5). As well, the calcium supplementation in the water can be beneficial for plants (it's a trace element).


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## Suzanne (Mar 11, 2006)

that's interesting, cause I've noticed that my KH is going down = it use to stay steady at 4 but now it's seems a bit lower - crushed coral? where do I acquire crushed coral? = it's amazing how seldom the CO2 comes on with the monitor/controller - I talked to Harold about it at Menagerie today - seems it's a lost leader at Aquariumplants.com - they wholesale here for $90!


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## Plant Crazy (Mar 24, 2006)

Hey Suzanne, they sell crushed coral in 'bulk' at the Menagerie. A small bag (say, two scoops) is less than $2. Make sure that you pick up some filter bags (the Aquaclear ones work well). The crushed coral dissolves quite slowly, and should last you quite awhile. It provides a nice slow, continuous supply of bicarbonate and calcium. If you ever want to bring up your calcium quickly, you can always dose CaCl2 (calcium chloride), which can apparently be purchased at brew stores. Likewise, baking soda (NOT to be confused with baking powder) can be used to add KH (bicarbonate) to your water in an instant.


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## kwonger81 (Mar 29, 2006)

Interesting that the KH for you guys is 4-5, and for me it's 6-7, and I'm not using any crushed coral. Any ideas why that might be? I live in North York, but I'm pretty sure we share the same water supply.


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## Suzanne (Mar 11, 2006)

Very interesting - I have no idea but would love to hear what more knowlegeable thoughts are -


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## holocron (Mar 12, 2006)

i'll test mine right now.....
update: well it seems my kh is still at 3 even without the peat (took it out two weeks ago).


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## Plant Crazy (Mar 24, 2006)

The kH of my tap water (East Toronto) is around 4-5, using the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test kit. However, using the Salifert KH kit, the kH measures at around 6 to 6.5.


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## kwonger81 (Mar 29, 2006)

I'm using the AP test kit and I've NEVER gotten below 6 - very strange. I'm going to look into this with city officials and I'll let you guys know if I find out anything useful.


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## Suzanne (Mar 11, 2006)

I'm using Aquarium P too and I've used Hagen - always 3 - 4


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## Suzanne (Mar 11, 2006)

and I just got a new thermometer, now I have 2 - both digital - one reads 27.9 the other reads 29.4 - technology sucks!


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## holocron (Mar 12, 2006)

I get a kh of 3 on both my AP and my tetraTest kits.


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## Suzanne (Mar 11, 2006)

How often do I need to recalibrate this controller? 
Stan are you there?


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## Plant Crazy (Mar 24, 2006)

Sorry that I haven't been on lately... I'm on a busy rotation, and we're in the proces of selling our house (open house this weekend!).

With regards to the calibration, the manufacturer recommends that you calibrate it every month. Honestly, I've only calibrated every 3-4 months (or whenever I remember). If you want a quick check, just compare the pH reading from your monitor with that of your pH test kit. If they're off by more than 0.2, then it's probably worth recalibrating it.


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## Suzanne (Mar 11, 2006)

I have the Milwaukee SMS122 - how do you re-calibrate this thing.

Could anyone pls walk me through it!

Thanks


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## wtac (Mar 17, 2006)

Hi Suzanne, 

I copied this from the Milwaukee online manual 

CALIBRATION PROCEDURE:
• Remove the protective cap from the electrode.
• Immerse the electrode tip into a new sachet of pH 7
calibration solution and allow the reading to stabilize.
• Adjust the OFFSET calibration trimmer (on the front)
to display "7.0 pH".
• Open a new sachet of pH 4 calibration solution and
use a small quantity to rinse the electrode.
• Immerse the electrode tip into the pH 4 sachet and
allow the reading to stabilize.
• Adjust the SLOPE calibration trimmer (on the rear)
to display "4.0 pH".

HTH


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