How to Calibrate your ORP Probe EP 10: Apex Aquarium Controllers from Neptune Systems

[@chriswactor4364]

Man tell me how you really feel🤣. Love it.

[@ElDell]

When someone who sells ORP equipment says that calibrating ORP is not important that means that the ORP equipment does not have a reasonable calibration feature. Saying that the approximate ORP value is enough is like having a wristwatch that sets the time by looking at the sun.

[@johnkaba2593]

When I worked at a Rainforest Cafe we calibrated our ORP (controlled ozone) every month when we did the pH probes. A small 25g bottle of quinhydrone will run $40-$50 through Fisher Scientific or Sigma-Aldrich, and it'll last forever. Trying to calibrate without the quinhydrone will ruin your ORP probe. The main reason to calibrate it is to make sure it's still working. If it calibrates properly, it's fine. If it doesn't calibrate, time for a new probe. If you are running ozone and your ORP probe dies, it'll either shut your ozone off or pump your tank full of ozone...which is real bad.

[@michaelbalsley6041]

Love it thanks 😊

[@mariegardiner7034]

Lol you are funny. I test ORP in antioxidant water. So the higher negative numbers the better for me! Thank you 💙💧💙

[@joshbroadbent2341]

My ORP has been steady around 250, it has never gone higher then that. The only time it goes down is if I do something to the tank. Shouuld I be concerned?

[@hijinks21]

No need to calibrate it now according to Neptune The ORP probe comes calibrated from the factory and should not require calibration in normal use (remove the clear cap before using)

[@zoofergee]

what is orp?

[@user-st1ix3ut5s]

BulkReef, I assume the ORP probe from Neptune is already calibrated out of the box???

[@ElDell]

Calibration out of the box is impossible for any ORP or pH probe because this has to be done with the meter device. If the APEX device or calibration procedure or calibration fluid is poorly designed or not available you have just discovered the reason that the manufacturer says it is not necessary.

[@MrBobbyThom]

1:42 lmao

[@postunit]

I have the new Apex...my ORP is consistently/steadily reading at 500. I like the consistent/steady factor, but apparently 500 is a dangerously high ORP level. Should I be concerned? Some params that I just ran include Alk 8.4, ph 7.9, Calcium 450, salinity 1.025, mag 1480, temp 77 and nitrates at 10. Thx in advance for any insight you can provide!

[@222555jlp]

if your orp is at 500 and you dont run ozone dont worry about it.

[@jasonjackson329]

😂 so basically Apex sold everyone so overpriced junk that basically is useless to use. But tricked most people into thinking they was buying something important

[@victorcinquemani8655]

Running high ORP above 415 to 475 . Water changes do not help

[@michaelbrangham8914]

I LOL'ed

[@mrsquirtsalot]

I just got a used Apex and he had an ORP probe. He had it sitting in a bucket filled with tank water with rocks and a powerhead. It is now just sitting in the back of my Biocube awainting final installation in my 72G. How do I know if its still good? I just ordered some pinpoint ORP calibration fluid from you guys. I know I cant use it to calibrate but can i use it to check if it is still giving me a ballpark reading?

[@99edwardsc]

mrsquirtsalot of

[@FRANKIEGBANGEMS]

I drank mine, wasn't that bad.

[@jgadzia1]

Actually there is a reason to have an accurate reading. If you are running a nitrate reductor, the orp probe will tell you when you need to feed more tank water into the reactor. You want the reactor to remain between -150 and -250 for maximum nitrate reduction. So an accurate reading is important. Too low and you start reducing sulfur, too high and you release nitrites. The problem with the apex is that it only reads positive values. But you can purchase a male to female BNC polarity reverser and get your negative reading. If you need more info see the neptune forums.

[@randallpetersen9164]

Calibrating your ORP probe is actually not such a bad idea, but the Apex calibration software is flawed and unusable. Accessed from the traditional dashboard, ORP probe setup wants to set the quinhydrone 7.0 solution to around 0-10 meV, when it actually should read in the range of 83-101 meV, which of course then throws off the quinhydrone 4.0 reading (which should be in the 254-281 meV range), resulting in subsequent dangerously low ORP readings in our tanks. The calibration software as accessed from Fusion is even worse. It erroneously starts by telling you to put the probe in quinhydrone 4.0 (rather than quinhydrone 7.0 which has the lower ORP value) and then calibrates it to the (wrong) 7.0 standard anyway. What a mess. The Apex 'manual calibration' is no better, since it isn't actually a true manual calibration where you can set the meV values for the two calibration solutions. The expensive calibration kit you mention (available from Sensorex and other companies) is still a worthwhile investment imo, esp if you're running ozone. Although recalibration of your probe isn't possible with the Apex software, the standard solutions will still tell you whether your probe is in the right ballpark, and importantly, whether there is the appropriate 170-185 meV rise between the quinhydrone 7.0 and quinhydrone 4.0 solutions.