Do you see any issues with my plan to use 1 Molar NaOH instead of part B

[Koty]

Do you see any issues with my plan to use 1 Molar NaOH instead of part B? My Ph is 8.2 all the time, so I expect that NaOH will give it a small bump to stabilize at 8.4. Also, I want to ensure that 1M NaOH is dosed with the same volumes of parts A and C.
Thanks
PS- Just found that 5 liters of ElimiNP and Amino organics are now available, congratz on that!

 

[Pod_01]

Do you see any issues with my plan to use 1 Molar NaOH

I will offer my observations with using sodium hydroxide. I tried it when I was experimenting with chasing pH and initially it did boost pH but over time pH went down.

The big drawback I observed was that I suddenly had precipitation build up. I dosed it in sump and I could see it there and also my pumps (skimmer and return) that never show calcium buildup suddenly had to be cleaned up lot more often (my skimmer pump stopped working, never had that happen). The skimmer efficiency dropped and perhaps that was the reason for the pH drop.
The precipitation bothers me, I suspect it bounds nutrients and other trace elements and it will build up over time. Never seen this with AFR or original Balling methods (TM Balling method or FM Balling Light method). I suspect over time you end up adding extra trace elements and the precipitation might lead to algae issue unless you can remove the precipitation.

There are reefers that make it work, but reading through some of the people’s methods like SunnyX they do a lot of cleaning and maintenance.

Good luck,

 

[Koty]

I wonder why you get precipitation as I expect increased pH to increase the capacity for supersaturation of Calcium. I would not expect a skimmer to affect the pH significantly.
I also want to increase the pH using NaOH instead of Balling part B.
Thanks

 

[Pod_01]

I wonder why you get precipitation as I expect increased pH to increase the capacity for supersaturation of Calcium. I would not expect a skimmer to affect the pH significantly.
I also want to increase the pH using NaOH instead of Balling part B.
Thanks

I suspect one of the reasons Hans Werner did not use Sodium Hydroxide in his Balling method is due to the precipitation.

Let’s see if he is able to add some details @Hans-Werner.

 

[Hans-Werner]

I suspect one of the reasons Hans Werner did not use Sodium Hydroxide in his Balling method is due to the precipitation.

Let’s see if he is able to add some details @Hans-Werner.

I saw only adverse effects of elevating pH. Maybe this was due to low phosphate concentrations which I did run most of the time until a few years ago.

I came to the conclusion that elevating pH is just another case of "chasing numbers". I did not try again under the higher phosphate concentrations I run for a few years now and so I did not revise my conclusion.

Maybe I am just too conservative or too careful in this aspect.

Besides this NaOH is a lay that really must be handled with care. It is more dangerous than muriatric acid because it penetrates tissues, as skin, much faster and causes severe damage and burns.

 

[Koty]

My pH was constantly 8.2, although I rarely measured it. Yesterday, I got 7.7, which got me worried a bit.
NaOH is indeed a risk. My other option was to combine Kalkwasser somehow with my dosing regime.

 

[Pod_01]

I saw only adverse effects of elevating pH. Maybe this was due to low phosphate concentrations which I did run most of the time until a few years ago.

I came to the conclusion that elevating pH is just another case of "chasing numbers". I did not try again under the higher phosphate concentrations I run for a few years now and so I did not revise my conclusion.

Maybe I am just too conservative or too careful in this aspect.

Besides this NaOH is a lay that really must be handled with care. It is more dangerous than muriatric acid because it penetrates tissues, as skin, much easier and causes severe damage and burns.

Thank you, I should have taken pictures. There was definitely white film build up in my sump. Also when dosing I observed white haze that I am not seeing with regular Balling KH dosing.

The skimmer pump was complete surprise to me. When I disassembled it that is when I found the precipitation build up on the inside of the rotor and the air intake. Had to use citric acid to remove it.

My pH is 7.8 /8.2 and sometimes it dips below 7.8 perhaps that is the reason I don’t have build up on my pumps.

I came to the conclusion that elevating pH is just another case of "chasing numbers".

So out of curiosity, what pH value do you consider acceptable?
At what value would you try to do something?
In winter my pH can nosedive to 7.6, so I been using CO2 scrubber to keep it up.

 

[Hans-Werner]

So out of curiosity, what pH value do you consider acceptable?
At what value would you try to do something?
In winter my pH can nosedive to 7.6, so I been using CO2 scrubber to keep it up.

I have to say based on my practicle experience that elevating pH does not give me better results, I generally did not measure pH, only accasionally. I consider pH 7.8 or 7.7 acceptable. However, the corals have to like it and have to "tell". If corals show no adverse reactions, why not run a lower pH?

 

[Pod_01]

If corals show no adverse reactions, why not run a lower pH?

That is like poking the bear with a sharp stick. Provocative question.

I did question the pH, in the past I ignored it and things grew well in summer or winter:

Last year I started tracking pH and tried number of things. This is after reading R2R and seeing statements that low pH can kill corals, dissolve corals and elevated does the opposite.

So my results on my tank with chasing pH: I killed 4-5 SPS corals, might be unrelated, observed precipitation and in January ended up with Dino’s.

So I been going back to regular Balling method and I use the CO2 scrubber at night when pH dips.

Things are looking better:

Back to the drawing board….