Bry Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 Hey team, got a question for you... need your opinion. I've had my Apex Controller for probably about 6 years, maybe more. I haven't calibrated the pH probe in years as it seemed to read fine and I knew my 90g setup pretty well. Recently the pH seemed to be reading high and double checking it against an API test I knew it was. So I got some 7.0 and 10.0 solution. The numbers are whack now. The probe reads 7.71 to 7.9, normally stay in the 7.7x area. (Used to be 8.25 to 8.56 area) Within an hour or so I calibrated again in the same solution but I don't know if re-dipping is okay. This time I let the probe sit in both solutions for at least 30 minutes. However the results were the same. So should I order new solution? Does a pH probe die? Apex calibration was done using the display module and seems very straight forward. Appreciate any advice. -Bryan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 How old is the probe? They start to lose accuracy after as little as 6 months, but most are still usable for 1 - 2 years if they're kept in good condition and calibrated every 2 - 3 months. If yours is 6 years old, I don't think I'd trust it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted November 1, 2016 Author Share Posted November 1, 2016 This one came with my Apex so probably close to 6 years old. Good condition? Well this one was just sitting in a probe holder. Really? pH probes have short expiration dates eh? For their costs you'd think they'd stick around for a while. Thanks, B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted November 1, 2016 Share Posted November 1, 2016 This one came with my Apex so probably close to 6 years old. Good condition? Well this one was just sitting in a probe holder. Really? pH probes have short expiration dates eh? For their costs you'd think they'd stick around for a while. Thanks, B Yeah, there's some dual element ones that can last much longer, but even the lab grade probes usually aren't good for more than a few years. At the same time, if you aren't using ph for anything requiring high precision and accuracy, like CO2 injection on a FW planted tank, even an old outdated one will give reliable-enough overall ph changes which is what I'm personally more interested in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Its time to replace that probe if its been 6 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted November 2, 2016 Author Share Posted November 2, 2016 Thanks guys. New probe will be ordered soon. Probably not going to get Neptune's version as it is a bit overpriced for such a short life. I'm looking to get something like this https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B001EHJO64/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_c_x_1_r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gig 'em @ NDstructible Posted November 2, 2016 Share Posted November 2, 2016 Definitely replace the probe, they do go bad after a while. I'm surprised it lasted this long Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlexMorsePremium Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 My brand new probe is like this. Red Sea test kits put me somewhere between 8.0 and 8.2 consistently, apex probe puts me peaking at like 7.7 It's consistent relative to itself, nightly swings and what not seem reasonable... but it's way out from the test kits. This is about a 90 day old probe, I contacted neptune and they said this is a reasonable margin of error... I disagree but don't want to just shell out to replace the probe to have the same issue. As long as I know the trend I don't mind doing manual tests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FarmerTy Posted November 3, 2016 Share Posted November 3, 2016 My brand new probe is like this. Red Sea test kits put me somewhere between 8.0 and 8.2 consistently, apex probe puts me peaking at like 7.7 It's consistent relative to itself, nightly swings and what not seem reasonable... but it's way out from the test kits. This is about a 90 day old probe, I contacted neptune and they said this is a reasonable margin of error... I disagree but don't want to just shell out to replace the probe to have the same issue. As long as I know the trend I don't mind doing manual tests. I'd be a bit more adamant with Neptune that it really isn't an acceptable margin of error. I'm sure you calibrated it with 7.0 and 10.0 pH solutions but just wanted to mention just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bry Posted November 4, 2016 Author Share Posted November 4, 2016 My brand new probe is like this. Red Sea test kits put me somewhere between 8.0 and 8.2 consistently, apex probe puts me peaking at like 7.7 It's consistent relative to itself, nightly swings and what not seem reasonable... but it's way out from the test kits. This is about a 90 day old probe, I contacted neptune and they said this is a reasonable margin of error... I disagree but don't want to just shell out to replace the probe to have the same issue. As long as I know the trend I don't mind doing manual tests. I also can't believe Neptune would have that response. That's too reminiscent of their early days where mistakes were "acceptable". That swing could be fish and coral killer. Hopefully they realize it's something to work on. I've been watching the pH to see if I could also do a relative reading. I think I will try the new probe first. If I can't get it to read correctly then I may have to do the "relative to itself" idea. My apex classic controller is brand new. Thanks for the help guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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