Best Way to Increase PH...

[Addicted2Acro]

I need to increase the PH of my tank. Heavy acro. Pretty new (6 months-ish). Details below.

- Red Sea Max G2+ 150 gal.
- Runs w/apex
- Trident + Trident NP
- Dosing 2part + A K Elements
- Skimmer + CO2 Scrubber
- Adaptive Reef Blade Hybrid Algae Reactor/ Refugium with Chaeto

So...A lot of things that are geared towards raising PH and still it gets down to 7.9 overnight and 8.15 during the day. CO2 reactor seems to work sometimes and not others. I am perplexed by it. I be sure to keep fresh media in it and also a little water in the bottom of the canister. But still, its like sometimes it has a big effect and sometimes its like its not even there. The chaeto doesnt help much either. Open to suggestions on where to go with this. My thougts on options are...

1. Install a re-circulating air setup for the skimmer. Not sure how to do this but I have read it works well.
2. Install a Kalk stirrer

That is pretty much the extent of my ideas. Any feedback would be appreciated!

 

[mypocketreef]

I need to increase the PH of my tank. Heavy acro. Pretty new (6 months-ish). Details below.

- Red Sea Max G2+ 150 gal.
- Runs w/apex
- Trident + Trident NP
- Dosing 2part + A K Elements
- Skimmer + CO2 Scrubber
- Adaptive Reef Blade Hybrid Algae Reactor/ Refugium with Chaeto

So...A lot of things that are geared towards raising PH and still it gets down to 7.9 overnight and 8.15 during the day. CO2 reactor seems to work sometimes and not others. I am perplexed by it. I be sure to keep fresh media in it and also a little water in the bottom of the canister. But still, its like sometimes it has a big effect and sometimes its like its not even there. The chaeto doesnt help much either. Open to suggestions on where to go with this. My thougts on options are...

1. Install a re-circulating air setup for the skimmer. Not sure how to do this but I have read it works well.
2. Install a Kalk stirrer

That is pretty much the extent of my ideas. Any feedback would be appreciated!

Are you already using Kalkwasser? Also, increasing gas exchange is always great if you can. This can be done by leaving the doors to the sump open over night to let it "air out".

 

[Addicted2Acro]

Are you already using Kalkwasser? Also, increasing gas exchange is always great if you can. This can be done by leaving the doors to the sump open over night to let it "air out".

No not using Kalkwasser right now. I dont really know too much about it. I do try to open the doors every day, but dont always succeed. The tank is in my office downstairs so airflow is definitely part of the issue. That being said, the CO2 in the air in the office right now is about 750ppm. Not terribly high, but not low.

 

[unchainedcoot]

I need to increase the PH of my tank. Heavy acro. Pretty new (6 months-ish). Details below.

- Red Sea Max G2+ 150 gal.
- Runs w/apex
- Trident + Trident NP
- Dosing 2part + A K Elements
- Skimmer + CO2 Scrubber
- Adaptive Reef Blade Hybrid Algae Reactor/ Refugium with Chaeto

So...A lot of things that are geared towards raising PH and still it gets down to 7.9 overnight and 8.15 during the day. CO2 reactor seems to work sometimes and not others. I am perplexed by it. I be sure to keep fresh media in it and also a little water in the bottom of the canister. But still, its like sometimes it has a big effect and sometimes its like its not even there. The chaeto doesnt help much either. Open to suggestions on where to go with this. My thougts on options are...

1. Install a re-circulating air setup for the skimmer. Not sure how to do this but I have read it works well.
2. Install a Kalk stirrer

That is pretty much the extent of my ideas. Any feedback would be appreciated!

If you aren’t using soda ash for your alk switch to that and it will help some. I run a recirculating CO2 scrubber off my skimmer and it does work quite well. You can see when I have to do a media change how quickly it drops
The biggest issue I have with the recirculating scrubber is keeping the media dry. I have quite a setup to try and keep moisture out of the canister but it still manages to soak the media which ultimately neuters it’s effectiveness.

I do run a turf scrubber off schedule of the display as well.

 

[mypocketreef]

No not using Kalkwasser right now. I dont really know too much about it. I do try to open the doors every day, but dont always succeed. The tank is in my office downstairs so airflow is definitely part of the issue. That being said, the CO2 in the air in the office right now is about 750ppm. Not terribly high, but not low.

Definitely look into kalkwasser, can be added into your auto top off, but I'd recommend dosing it separately.

 

[mypocketreef]

Definitely look into kalkwasser, can be added into your auto top off, but I'd recommend dosing it separately.

Also, increasing airflow in the room and opening sump at night can be a simple and cheap way to increase at least a little.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I agree that fresher air to the room is the “best” way, if not always cheapest depending on the climate.

I’m not a fan of a recirculating skimmer with CO2 media.,it gives up the oxygenation capability of the skimmer.

A skimmer air line run to the outside can be helpful.

 

[Patx]

Skimmer air line outside filter by Co² media.
Outside air alone... ph range7,9-8,1 max.
Add up Co² media in canister... solide 8.0-8,3

(The CO2 medium last longer if I use outside air.)

 

[PharmrJohn]

I third the air line from the outside. When I get my tank up and running one of the first things I'm doing is drilling a hole into my house.

 

[ReefHunter006]

Have you considered adding more light? Best bang for your buck in my opinion.

 

[Dirtyshoez]

Dp you have good surface agitation in the tank? I would say try airing out the house first to see if you see a change before you start tackling it

 

[Addicted2Acro]

Thanks for all the suggestions. Those are super helpful. I actually added some bacteria yesterday and turned the skimmer and UV off for a few hours....but then forgot to turn it back on and PH dropped to 7.75 overnight with the skimmer off. Straight down.

Also, the suggestion about the light was really good. I do have a lot of light firepower. 2 Radion XR30 and 2 AI Blade Grows. But I had to do an interceptor treatment to get rid of white bugs recently, which led to a dino outbreak, which led me to reduce light intensity slightly. I did notice that adding white light boosted PH a little in the past. I will increase light again soon and that should help a bit.

Sounds like feeding line from outside is an easy first step to try. Question...what do you put on the outside hose to make sure bugs or whatever dont get into it? Just some kind of high micron filter mesh ok or what do you all use?

 

[Addicted2Acro]

Update on this....So I hooked up line to outside and zero change in PH. Still 7.9 at night and 8.1 during the day. It also does not seem like the CO2 scrubber media is being used up. There must be something in the scrubber that is not working correctly. I do put a little water in the bottom so that is not the issue. I did confirm that air is flowing through the intake, because if I block it, the skimmer starts to react. I dont really know what else could be malfunctioning. Any thoughts?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Raising pH with a skimmer is always a fight against tank top aeration. Maybe your skimmer just cannot win against that.

 

[Addicted2Acro]

Raising pH with a skimmer is always a fight against tank top aeration. Maybe your skimmer just cannot win against that.

Are you saying that more tank top aeration would reduce the skimmer ability to lower PH? If so, that is interesting. I just recently increased tank top aeration by alot, and that timeline would line up with when the scrubber stopped working.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Are you saying that more tank top aeration would reduce the skimmer ability to lower PH? If so, that is interesting. I just recently increased tank top aeration by alot, and that timeline would line up with when the scrubber stopped working.

Yes. The tank top is aerating with the high CO2 room air, fighting against the skimmer aerating with lower CO2 air.

 

[pudge]

I need to increase the PH of my tank. Heavy acro. Pretty new (6 months-ish). Details below.

- Red Sea Max G2+ 150 gal.
- Runs w/apex
- Trident + Trident NP
- Dosing 2part + A K Elements
- Skimmer + CO2 Scrubber
- Adaptive Reef Blade Hybrid Algae Reactor/ Refugium with Chaeto

So...A lot of things that are geared towards raising PH and still it gets down to 7.9 overnight and 8.15 during the day. CO2 reactor seems to work sometimes and not others. I am perplexed by it. I be sure to keep fresh media in it and also a little water in the bottom of the canister. But still, its like sometimes it has a big effect and sometimes its like its not even there. The chaeto doesnt help much either. Open to suggestions on where to go with this. My thougts on options are...

1. Install a re-circulating air setup for the skimmer. Not sure how to do this but I have read it works well.
2. Install a Kalk stirrer

That is pretty much the extent of my ideas. Any feedback would be appreciated!

I had this problem when my tank was younger. I improved with primarily 3 methods:
1. Refugium light running opposite schedule of the display lights.
2. Employing a Kalk stirrer. I use the Avast marine and dose the bulk of kalk during lower pH times (at night).
3. CO2 scrubber. I have mine connected to a solenoid which redirects air intake from the skimmer through the canister with the CO2 media or from room air controlled by the apex and triggered by the pH probe. The air is drawn through the CO2 media when pH drops below 8.3, and away from the media when the pH is 8.3 or higher. Over the last 6 months the proportion of time the CO2 media is "on" is less than a couple of hours at night. This may be overkill, honestly I found this more fun to accomplish as an engineering project.

With this my pH bottoms out at 8.28 and peaks at 8.36.

Simpler stuff like surface agitation and just opening the windows in the house to decrease CO2 concentration really does work, it just wasn't as much fun as wiring up a solenoid and programming it in the apex.

Best of luck, this is going to get better for sure.

 

[Addicted2Acro]

I had this problem when my tank was younger. I improved with primarily 3 methods:
1. Refugium light running opposite schedule of the display lights.
2. Employing a Kalk stirrer. I use the Avast marine and dose the bulk of kalk during lower pH times (at night).
3. CO2 scrubber. I have mine connected to a solenoid which redirects air intake from the skimmer through the canister with the CO2 media or from room air controlled by the apex and triggered by the pH probe. The air is drawn through the CO2 media when pH drops below 8.3, and away from the media when the pH is 8.3 or higher. Over the last 6 months the proportion of time the CO2 media is "on" is less than a couple of hours at night. This may be overkill, honestly I found this more fun to accomplish as an engineering project.

With this my pH bottoms out at 8.28 and peaks at 8.36.

Simpler stuff like surface agitation and just opening the windows in the house to decrease CO2 concentration really does work, it just wasn't as much fun as wiring up a solenoid and programming it in the apex.

Best of luck, this is going to get better for sure.

Ok dude you gotta tell me how to do that re-circulating scrubber thing. That was the next thing I was going to try. Sounds like you nailed it.

 

[Addicted2Acro]

I had this problem when my tank was younger. I improved with primarily 3 methods:
1. Refugium light running opposite schedule of the display lights.
2. Employing a Kalk stirrer. I use the Avast marine and dose the bulk of kalk during lower pH times (at night).
3. CO2 scrubber. I have mine connected to a solenoid which redirects air intake from the skimmer through the canister with the CO2 media or from room air controlled by the apex and triggered by the pH probe. The air is drawn through the CO2 media when pH drops below 8.3, and away from the media when the pH is 8.3 or higher. Over the last 6 months the proportion of time the CO2 media is "on" is less than a couple of hours at night. This may be overkill, honestly I found this more fun to accomplish as an engineering project.

With this my pH bottoms out at 8.28 and peaks at 8.36.

Simpler stuff like surface agitation and just opening the windows in the house to decrease CO2 concentration really does work, it just wasn't as much fun as wiring up a solenoid and programming it in the apex.

Best of luck, this is going to get better for sure.

Maybe I read that too fast. You just have a regular scrubber setup but its turned on when PH is low? Or you have a re-circulating scrubber setup?

 

[Addicted2Acro]

Yes. The tank top is aerating with the high CO2 room air, fighting against the skimmer aerating with lower CO2 air.

Hey Randy,

So I reduced surface agitation and ran a line from outside into my skimmer and PH didnt move at all. Still 7.8-8.05ish during the day. Even with the higher PH my scrubber media doesnt seem to be saturating at all. Its still just as white as it was brand new after like 3 days. Curious if you have any thoughts on why that would be or just other ways to raise PH. Thanks for your time!

Also, I tried to DM you but the site wouldnt let me. If this would be easier and you are able to, shoot me a DM.