pH probe giving bad readings

Basic / Standard Reef Angel hardware
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MDB1029
Posts: 178
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:10 pm
Location: An Oklahoman in Ohio

Re: pH probe giving bad readings

Post by MDB1029 »

cosmith71 wrote:I don't know. I doubt that's your problem, as my probe is near my skimmer and doesn't have issues.

When you're unplugging and testing, are you using a meter, or are you observing the pH reading? Try going by the pH reading only. Meters are iffy sometimes. Start unplugging things and see if the pH reading normalizes.
I will try this when i get off work. The problem with this method is it is not always bouncing around. Roberto suggested i try it in a cup of water and i let it stay in there for a good 30 minutes and it stayed perfectly stable withing .01. Then i put it back in the sump in the same spot, and it stayed at the same pH within the .01 until i left for work, so about 1-1.5 hours. When i woke this morning after not checking it for 8 hours though, it was reading 1.00. So i know something is wrong.
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MDB1029
Posts: 178
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:10 pm
Location: An Oklahoman in Ohio

Re: pH probe giving bad readings

Post by MDB1029 »

When i got home this evening, the probe had been in the sump for 10 hours or so and was solidly sitting at 8.2. I checked with the meter and still had the voltage registering about 14v. This seems to fluctuate a bit. I started unplugging things and the probe didn't fluctuate more than .01 the entire time until the only thing plugged in was the pH probe. I also checked with the meter and everytime i unplugged something it seemed to drop about 1v. Everything unplugged it was at 8v. I pulled the pH probe out of the water and the voltage dropped to 3v.

I am still as lost as ever but at least the probe seems to be giving good readings now, not that i ever thought the probe was the problem in the first place.

I will check the pH in the morning again. I need to get the cash together for the wifi adapter asap so i can check it whenever i feel the need. With the wifi i am able to graph the pH as well right? I could be wrong here.
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cosmith71
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Location: Oklahoma City

Re: pH probe giving bad readings

Post by cosmith71 »

Yep, you can graph the pH.
MDB1029
Posts: 178
Joined: Wed Nov 12, 2014 3:10 pm
Location: An Oklahoman in Ohio

Re: pH probe giving bad readings

Post by MDB1029 »

So the probe is still giving steady readings. Since i was having trouble with it before should i recalibrate it?

How often should you calibrate the probe?
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