JBL ProFlora pH Control Touch

JBL ProFlora pH Control Touch is a pH measuring and control computer for a CO2-injected planted tank. It reads pH and temperature on separate sensors, shows them on a graphic display, and switches a solenoid valve to hold the pH where you set it. JBL notes that the sensors and the solenoid valve are not included.

Key Features

• Measures and controls: it does not just display a pH, it acts on it by opening and closing a CO2 valve.
• Separate pH and temperature sensors: temperature affects the reading, so a controller that knows both is doing a better job.
• Touch interface and graphic display: JBL's touchpad front rather than buttons and a single line of digits.
• Holds a target: a controller keeps CO2 steady through the photoperiod instead of you watching a bubble counter.
• Sensors and valve sold separately: JBL is explicit about this. Budget for a pH electrode and a solenoid valve as well.
• For planted tanks running CO2: there is little reason to fit one on a tank without CO2 injection.

Setting It Up Safely

• Work out your target from pH and carbonate hardness together. The CO2 level in a planted tank is derived from both, never from pH alone.
• Set a conservative target and move towards a lower pH over days, watching the fish. CO2 drives pH down and displaces oxygen, and fish gasping at the surface means stop.
• Fit a check valve in the CO2 line so water cannot siphon back into the regulator.
• Keep the electrode calibrated. A controller is only as honest as the sensor feeding it, and a drifted electrode can leave the valve open.
• Add surface agitation or an air stone overnight. Plants stop consuming CO2 in the dark and the oxygen level falls.
• Check the tank daily for the first week after commissioning it rather than trusting the automation straight away.

Good To Know

• The pH electrode, temperature sensor and solenoid valve are not in the box. Check what you have before ordering.
• A CO2 system can kill a tank of fish quickly if it runs away. Treat the controller as a safety device that itself needs checking, not as something to fit and forget.
• Mount the unit above the water line and keep the connections dry.