Low pH Answer

[Alabamareef]

C02 Scrubber...... First this does not take the place of a balanced alk, cal, mg issues but if all your levels are good and your ph is still low a C02 scrubber may be the solution. I've delt with low pH for a while. It started when I changed from 2 part to a Calcium Reactor. So why not stay with 2 part, you may ask, well that could be a whole new thread but I was very happy with 2 part but like the benifits of the Calcium Reactor. So I've been dealing with low pH and was really not sure how to fix my problem. I did get a degas chamber for the reactors effluent thinking this would solve the issue but it seemed to do nothing. Then I added more Kalk to the stirrer and that did help elevate the pH along with the alk. Then I read about a C02 scrubber, bought one and its working great. I was dealing with a nightly ph of 7.7 and a daily high of 7.9. Forgot to mentioin I also have a fuge with macro and do reverse lighting. So I got everything from bulkreef and it was an easy hook up. Basicly its a airline that comes off the vinturi of the skimmer, same as if you ran a line outside, to a reaction chamber that has an absorbent for C02, the absorbent changies color when its used up. So I hooked it up with everything from bulk reef. The line seemed small and the elbows leading into the reactor also seemed small. So I hooked everything up and noticed my skimmer did not seem to be working properly. I called tech support and they told me to take off an elbow from the inlet side or use an air pump to force air into the system. So I did that and then measured the AirFlow of my skimmer and it was still reduced almost 50%. I then made a trip to lowes and bought a larger elbow and tubbing, I think 3/8" ID, and after hooking all that up my Air flow is great and my pH over the past 24hrs has been 8.24 at night and 8.31 during the day. So I"m very happy with the results. Also there are plenty of DIY C02 scrubbers that would work fine I'm just one of those people who has to have everything uniform.....

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I'm glad it works well for you!

The main drawback I've heard from folks who use them is the cost of the media.

Where do you get yours?

 

[Alabamareef]

Bulk Reef Supply. $49.00. Not sure how long it will last. Guess it depends on the amount of C02 in the house. I'll post when I have to buy more.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Bulk Reef Supply. $49.00. Not sure how long it will last. Guess it depends on the amount of C02 in the house. I'll post when I have to buy more.

Yes, let us know.

The use rate is a product of CO2 in the house and the flow rate through it.

 

[ReeferEric]

I would check your pH probes to see if they are calibrated as well. I've recently had a issue with higher pH then I would like, recalibrated my probe yesterday and it is or seems to be where should be now.

 

[Alabamareef]

Thanks Eric all probes were calibraded and checked before I started this but that would be something people should check before making any changes. Good starting point.

 

[Alabamareef]

So the 9lb's of color changing media from Bulk Reef Supply will fill my canister 7 times. The first canister lasted 2 weeks. So your looking at about 3 months worth. At the two week point it had just started droping my pH a little, 8.3 to 8.18. I want to stay above 8.1 so I chose to change it. I think I could get another week. Of course this is all revelent to the amount of C02 in the ambiant air.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Of course this is all revelent to the amount of C02 in the ambiant air.

And the rate you are forcing air through it.

 

[Sangheili]

You can source the Soda Lime for less then half the price of the BRS product. I just purchased a 5 gallon bucket of it (37 pounds) by a vendor on Amazon for $84 shipped. Been using it for a few months now and it has been the only way to bring my pH up in my tank to a stable level.

 

[Alabamareef]

You can source the Soda Lime for less then half the price of the BRS product. I just purchased a 5 gallon bucket of it (37 pounds) by a vendor on Amazon for $84 shipped. Been using it for a few months now and it has been the only way to bring my pH up in my tank to a stable level.

Does it also change colors? That's a good price and if it does not change I can tell by my pH.

 

[Sangheili]

Yep, it changes color just like the others.

 

[coralcruze]

Randy, could you please shead some light on Co2? I was under the impression that Co2 typically will not rise that much inside a home, even with windows down... is this true? I tried running a feed tube from outside once just to see if it made any differance in co2 levels and I didn't see much effect on ph rise... however, I usually leave a small window fan on near the main display. second question is that Alk will drop Ph, correct? in my case adding a kalk stirrer was the solution (with your help). I have much better controle over Ph with this device, much more stable and consistent. Although adding a second chamber onto my cal. reactor was also helpful to keep up with Alk demand.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Randy, could you please shead some light on Co2? I was under the impression that Co2 typically will not rise that much inside a home, even with windows down... is this true? I tried running a feed tube from outside once just to see if it made any differance in co2 levels and I didn't see much effect on ph rise... however, I usually leave a small window fan on near the main display. second question is that Alk will drop Ph, correct? in my case adding a kalk stirrer was the solution (with your help). I have much better controle over Ph with this device, much more stable and consistent. Although adding a second chamber onto my cal. reactor was also helpful to keep up with Alk demand.

CO2 can rise a lot inside due to people and pets breathing and unvented gas appliances such as gas stoves, and, of course, CaCO3/CO2 reactors that add CO2 directly to the water and some to the air. The indoor CO2 level can easily be double or triple normal, and each doubling will drop the pH of seawater in equilibrium with it by about 0.3 pH units.

Alkalinity is not impacted by CO2. However, changing pH can impact the use rate of calcium and alkalinity in the aquarium, so at constant dosing rate, lower pH will result in higher alkalinity and calcium, typically.

 

[coralcruze]

so by keeping a window open, is that alone preventing Co2 from rising in my home? I do have a window fan that will turn on based on tank temp allowing fresh air from outside to cycle in.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, open windows are probably the best way to keep indoor CO2 at normal levels, although an open window needs to have enough flow through it to exhaust the bad air.

 

[Sangheili]

One trick I have found is to leave my laundry room air vent on 24/7. Its noticeable when my wife turns it off on accident (I taped the switch now haha), the Soda Lime media in my reactor gets eaten up much faster.

Our apartment is very well sealed but having that vent fan on seems to bring in a tiny amount of fresh air through door and window cracks that would not otherwise come in (due to negative pressure).

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

One trick I have found is to leave my laundry room air vent on 24/7. Its noticeable when my wife turns it off on accident (I taped the switch now haha), the Soda Lime media in my reactor gets eaten up much faster.

Our apartment is very well sealed but having that vent fan on seems to bring in a tiny amount of fresh air through door and window cracks that would not otherwise come in (due to negative pressure).

Yes, that makes good sense, except perhaps if it is really hot or cold out and you pay a lot for heating or cooling.

I run a caouple of bathroom vent fans in my basement fish room to keep moisture down, but the also exhaust CO2 and radon.

 

[neuwave]

I've been using a CO2 scrubber for several years now. In 24hours the ph rose from 7.8 to a stable 8.2-8.3. I have two reactors connect to my skimmer in parallel. I removed the cotton lining at the base of the canisters because it does impede the air flow. Living in Florida the windows are primarily closed 95% of the year. Yep, it's just too hot and humid. I simply purchase a 5 gallon bucket of soda lime which lasts me a little over a year. At $70-$80 shipped to my doorstep is fine with me considering that's around $6-$8 a month. I've had people come tell me it doesn't work because their media exhaust overnight. I look at their setup and see a Gatorade bottle half filled with media attached to a massive skimmer meant for 150 gallon tank. One thing to remember is make sure your scrubber fits the size of your tank. Basically it is like sucking water out of a shot glass. It' going to empty pretty fast. Skimmer size versus CO2 scrubber size is important.

As a added benefit we can then tinker with out water chemistry much more. You have more options to place your Alk at different levels for coal growth. ULNS such as zeovit need a lower alk level but they don't have to sacrifice their ph to do so. Also CO2 is an inhibitor to calcifying organisms, corals being the primary ones in our tanks. So with lowers levels of CO2 in the water I hope to see the growth increase. I'll be experiment with this over the next year or two with sps. People don't like to chase PH but I choose to chase ph and its big brother CO2. No complaints here.

 

[Alabamareef]

I bought my Co2 Scrubber from Bulk Reef Supply. It's nice but I took the inlet elbow, off completely, and the elbow going to the skimmer I changed. Not sure of the exact size but went to Lows and got the largest one that fit the threads on the scrubber and tubbing. I think it was 3/8" inside diameter. Worked much better than what came stock and my skimmer is now almost silent. Not knocking the DIY scrubbers I think it would be easy to make and get the same results.
I will be ordering the soda lime, 5 gal bucket, soon although I don't mind the BRS media. Not really sure there is any difference. Or the shelf life of a 5 gallon bucket. Might be better to continually refill the one gallon from the larger container so as not to expose the 5 gallon bucket to air, just a thought.
Very happy with the Scrubber. Ph is 8.3 and about 8.28 at night.

 

[mc-cro]

I run a calcium reactor pretty hard, and my sump is in a basement, sealed up with no windows. This set up has always suffered from chronically low Ph. typical swing is from 7.7-8.0. I ran a C02 scrubber for about 6 months, and it worked. My ph stayed above 8.0, even at night (with an algae scrubber). This tank has been up for about 3 yrs, I have ran it with low ph, with co2 scrubbers and high ph, and now back to low ph. To be honest, I saw absolutely NO difference in the health of the tank with or without low ph. I stopped running the co2 media to save money.