All for Reef and Kalkwasser

[ReeferZ1227]

I run kalk/afr combo, try to target 50% daily alk consumption with each. I have a very heavily stocked 125. Ive been running this combination for several years at this point. ICP results are fairly impressive with 10% WC weekly.

 

[ReeferZ1227]

i wonder if putting a bubbler inside my display would raise ph

I tried this, with a pretty big air pump. I just got salt creep everywhere.

The only real solution is decreasing indoor CO2, its unlikely a skimmer, scrubber, and most definitely an addititive will outcompete gas exchange of surface agitation - at least in a tank wkth adequate surface agitation. I was never able to do so at least.

 

[Reef Puncher]

I tried this, with a pretty big air pump. I just got salt creep everywhere.

The only real solution is decreasing indoor CO2, its unlikely a skimmer, scrubber, and most definitely an addititive will outcompete gas exchange of surface agitation - at least in a tank wkth adequate surface agitation. I was never able to do so at least.

so i watched a BRS video about PH. they said the amount of gas exchange that occurs with a skimmer is like double that of surface agitation. thats why a CO2 scrubber is so effective at raising ph. for the record i opened my window all weekend, and i did notice a small bump up. its just thats not practical all year.

 

[rishma]

so i watched a BRS video about PH. they said the amount of gas exchange that occurs with a skimmer is like double that of surface agitation. thats why a CO2 scrubber is so effective at raising ph. for the record i opened my window all weekend, and i did notice a small bump up. its just thats not practical all year.

open windows definitely helps my tank and it gets better the longer they are open. Interestingly, my most recent experience was that outside air pumped to my skimmer did not have noticeable impact. To be be fair, it’s a small tank and a small skimmer, but I was surprised it didn’t work. I had seen an improvement before in a larger tank with a larger skimmer. In my current tank it seems surface agitation does overpower my little skimmer.

An air pump with outside air to a diffuser in my all in one definitely improves pH. It’s easy for me to cover that section so no salt creep. That air pump puts out more air than my skimmer pulls in.

 

[Troylee]

open windows definitely helps my tank and it gets better the longer they are open. Interestingly, my most recent experience was that outside air pumped to my skimmer did not have noticeable impact. To be be fair, it’s a small tank and a small skimmer, but I was surprised it didn’t work. I had seen an improvement before in a larger tank with a larger skimmer. In my current tank it seems surface agitation does overpower my little skimmer.

An air pump with outside air to a diffuser in my all in one definitely improves pH. It’s easy for me to cover that section so no salt creep. That air pump puts out more air than my skimmer pulls in.

My skimmer pulls from outside and I think I got .1 better on my ph.. def not worth the hassle of doing lol.. plus Vegas weather is 100 in the day and 65 at night so it makes my tank temp drift all over.

 

[ReeferZ1227]

so i watched a BRS video about PH. they said the amount of gas exchange that occurs with a skimmer is like double that of surface agitation. thats why a CO2 scrubber is so effective at raising ph. for the record i opened my window all weekend, and i did notice a small bump up. its just thats not practical all year.

Perhaps, but you need to consider surface area of agitation, volume of tank, and size of skimmer. I run a smaller skimmer and have alot of surface agitation. I run a scrubber but its minimal benefit opposed to keeping CO2 down. Additionally youre still fighting upstream if you have high indoor CO2, scrubber or not. 400ppm indoor co2 has a rather material impact on pH, relative to how easy it is to see 800ppm indoor co2.

 

[ReeferZ1227]

open windows definitely helps my tank and it gets better the longer they are open. Interestingly, my most recent experience was that outside air pumped to my skimmer did not have noticeable impact. To be be fair, it’s a small tank and a small skimmer, but I was surprised it didn’t work. I had seen an improvement before in a larger tank with a larger skimmer. In my current tank it seems surface agitation does overpower my little skimmer.

An air pump with outside air to a diffuser in my all in one definitely improves pH. It’s easy for me to cover that section so no salt creep. That air pump puts out more air than my skimmer pulls in.

The efficiency in which it mixes water and air could be significantly lower. Not saying your approach is wrong, just that volume of air in isnt necessarily the best metric when comparing skimmer vs air pump.

 

[rishma]

The efficiency in which it mixes water and air could be significantly lower. Not saying your approach is wrong, just that volume of air in isnt necessarily the best metric when comparing skimmer vs air pump.

the metric I am using is pH improvement.i saw no noticeable impact when feeding outside air to my skimmer. I tried it a couple times. I saw a sustainable increase of minimum pH >0.1 when using air pump and diffuser.

I agree, air rate it self is not the only thing that matters. I fact it is likely not the most important thing at all. A skimmer is going to be more efficient gas exchange with its tiny bubbles, but it turns out that a dinky skimmer has a dinky impact in my case. A decent air pump and air diffuser had a much bigger impact

 

[rishma]

My skimmer pulls from outside and I think I got .1 better on my ph.. def not worth the hassle of doing lol.. plus Vegas weather is 100 in the day and 65 at night so it makes my tank temp drift all over.

I have been wondering if I’d see a temp swing. I guess we will see, but my weather is much more mild than yours.

I think a 0.1 pH improvement is good! I drilled a hole in an exterior wall and ran tubing though another internal wall to get it. Worth it? Probably not, but makes me feel better :)

 

[Troylee]

I have been wondering if I’d see a temp swing. I guess we will see, but my weather is much more mild than yours.

I think a 0.1 pH improvement is good! I drilled a hole in an exterior wall and ran tubing though another internal wall to get it. Worth it? Probably not, but makes me feel better :)

My ph level averages at 8.2 with kalk top off that’s the biggest benefit.