stupid ph monitor

[verynewatthis]

okay for a week now i have been getting upset about my ph droping, i even got on the emergency post...and i found problem. it was the ph monitor. this stupid one came with cal fluid that you put it in and hit the cal button, if it comes up green its good to go......NOT TRUE....cuz i did that when my ph droped...did it twice....so for a week i have been freakin out.. so i took out my old salifert ph test kit and it tested fine...and i thought no way....so i did the cal test again...and it came up green...so i used a different test kit and it tested good again...so now im just in ohhh.... so i tested the probe in a 7.0 sample and it was way off...same with the 4.0 sample....so i adj..ed both over and over again and now my tank is reading fine.....matt told me that he got rid of his and i might do the same..or i might buy a pinpoint one...dont know...just wanted to put this up so you all will check the cal on your monitors, and not the eazy way..do both the high side and low if yours has it...im not wanting to bash hardware just wanted to remind yall do you mantenence talk to yall later...rich

[NaCl_H2O]

I won't say ... I Told You So :roll

Pinpoints have problems too ... I have a new Hanna PH & TDS meter on order :)

[jaded]

PH? whats PH? I cant remember the last time I tested for PH

[matt]

I never had one, you're thinking of Josh. I'm too cheap for something like that.

[JimD]

If you're dosing kalk, you need to know where your Ph is at.

[GaryP]

Jade,

pH is not normally a large issue in a tank that is propered buffered and has alkalinity readings in an acceptable range. The exception to this is when you are running a calcium reactor, as Rick is doing. You are literally pumping acid in the form of carbonic acid into your tank. Monitoring your pH is very important when you have a calcium reactor, especially when it is being dialed in, as is the case with Rick.

Joshua,

A pH meter should be calibrated every time it is used, regardless of the brand. Typically you need at least two pH points to do a proper calibration. In our case that is 7 & 10. People that running their pH meters continuously are just fooling themselves with a false sense of security. Unless you are going to spend several thousand dollars on an industrial model pH meter and hire an instrument tech to service it, you are never going to get accurate meansurements from a full-time service pH meter.

Rick,

I don't know what the green light is that you are referring to, but the only way to calibrate a pH meter is as I described above. You may have simply been testing whether your battery was working. :)

Another note about pH meters. The inside of a pH electrode contains a solution of potassium chloride. The electrode should always be stored in a potassium chloride solution between uses. This can usually be put in the sponge inside the rubber cap that goes over the electrode. You can buy the storage solution or make it by using Morton Lite Salt. Please read your meter's directions on calibration and storage. You can severely shorten the life span of your electrode by not treating it as instructed. I suggest anyone planning on buying a pH meter do some research first and determine just exactly what it is capable of, and what it is not. I think a lot of perfectly good meters get accused of low quality simply because their owners don't bother to take the time to read the instructions.

[::pete::]

Gary
All good points and thats why I stay away from them and just use a test kit ;)

[GaryP]

Gary
All good points and thats why I stay away from them and just use a test kit ;)

I felt like I was going hi tech when I went to Radio Shack and got an electronic thermometer. I've never had to calibrate phenolphthalein (the purple powder in a pH test kit).

[::pete::]

I've never had to calibrate phenolphthalein (the purple powder in a pH test kit).

Calibrate it? I cant even say it!! :)

[GaryP]

Jusst say Ex Lax and I will know what you mean. Phenophthalein is also the active ingredient in that wonderful product. One of those things you learn in High School whenever the nerds needed to take revenge on the jocks. Remember those big jugs of Gator Ade during football practice? It gives new meaning to term "wind sprints."

Who said you could never learn anything useful in chemistry class?