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pH goes up with filter on


TomCruise

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I am worried because I changed media in my canister filter and my pH has increased from 5.4 to 6.  I am monitoring continuously with Pinpoint.  Not only that, but when I unplug my filter the readings immediately drop by .5.  So when my filter has power my pH is .5 higher than without it.  Should I be worried? Just when I think I've figured out science, it goes all wobbly on me.  Any advice wood be greatly appreciated.

ty

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pH probes work by quickly binding and debinding protons as the water passes by. If the water is moving, it will read out at a slightly lower pH. It makes sense why this would happen when you turn the filter on.

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My ph meter shows lower reading in moving water....

As it should. Like I explained, it's based on how many protons bind in a given time. The faster the water, the more binding (at a given pH).
Think of it as an assembly line where a worker (the pH probe) is told to work at a specific rate (still water) and produce a certain amount of product (expected pH), but the worker can actually work faster. If you speed up the assembly line (flowing water), and the worker can keep up (the probe is capable of binding and debinding H+ much faster than in still water), then they will produce more product (pH reads an effectively higher concentration of H+, so a lower number for pH).
The problem with high-end probes is that they can bind/debind more effectively, and thus have more fluctuation. Without this they wouldn't have the precision they do. However, to overcome this, simple take a sample of tank water in a cup and test that, or put the probe in a relatively dead zone where the flow is light to get a pretty good estimate.
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I am worried because I changed media in my canister filter and my pH has increased from 5.4 to 6.  I am monitoring continuously with Pinpoint.  Not only that, but when I unplug my filter the readings immediately drop by .5.  So when my filter has power my pH is .5 higher than without it.  Should I be worried? Just when I think I've figured out science, it goes all wobbly on me.  Any advice wood be greatly appreciated.
ty

pH reading will fluctuate due to stray voltage in the tank water. With your filter running, take a glass of water out of the tank, then measure the water in the glass vs what is in the tank...

Also, if the pH meter is plugged into the same wall socket as your pump it could effect the meter. Test the water in the glass with pump running vs off.


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pH reading will fluctuate due to stray voltage in the tank water. With your filter running, take a glass of water out of the tank, then measure the water in the glass vs what is in the tank...

Also, if the pH meter is plugged into the same wall socket as your pump it could effect the meter. Test the water in the glass with pump running vs off.

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Stray voltage causes the pH meter to read out higher. [emoji1303] nailed it.

I now realize I was talking about a pH drop, not rise and misspoke! XD
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