For a very long time I let my reef tank just putter along. 75g +30g sump. Typical PH was between 7.6 and 8.1. About 2 months ago I dedicated resources to this issue.
1. drill hole thru outside wall and bring in outside air to aquarium area. (useless)
2. hook up outside air to airstone and drop in sump. (also useless because pressure of water in sump column above airstone prevented air flow thru airstones - water pressure over airstone exceeded the little tine [normal] air pump I had trying to bring air in
3. add in super air pump (SUPER as in 800GPH per hour - normal air pump is around 25 GPH). Force outside air to move thru airstones. Small problem solved -
outside air bubbling LIKE mad from airstones in sump. RESULT PH accords the board from 7.6 - 8.1 to 7.9 - 8.25
4. add in CO2 scrubber between outside air line and air stones. RESULT PH accords the board increase to 7.75 to 8.29
5. add in Bullet3 HOB skimmer. RESULT PH across the board increase to 7.9 - 8.31
6. move outside co2 scrubbed air from airstones to primary air intake on skimmer
across the board increase to .....------>>>>>>> 8.1 to 8.5<<<<<<<<------ and still increasing
Notes:
7. I am using Limewater and somewhere in the above process I also started increasing limewater and reducing fresh and alkaline solution.
8. Also BLOXYGEN is absolutely a critical part of how I keep my limewater (kalkwasser) from reacting at all. Strongly encourage anyone not familiar with it to check it out. It's expensive ARGON but it does the job. Used this a lot in my days as a carpenter to keep all my various paints/thinners/ etc.. stored for a long long time. (heavier than air, so you squirt/spray/dispense this on top of your container, voila, anything that can react with LimeWater is now prevented from reaching the solution. Argon is INERT so no reaction of any kind... Go Chemistry!
I consider the above steps (while some might say excessive) a significant victory in my attempts to grow more healthier corals
Rich S.
1. drill hole thru outside wall and bring in outside air to aquarium area. (useless)
2. hook up outside air to airstone and drop in sump. (also useless because pressure of water in sump column above airstone prevented air flow thru airstones - water pressure over airstone exceeded the little tine [normal] air pump I had trying to bring air in
3. add in super air pump (SUPER as in 800GPH per hour - normal air pump is around 25 GPH). Force outside air to move thru airstones. Small problem solved -
4. add in CO2 scrubber between outside air line and air stones. RESULT PH accords the board increase to 7.75 to 8.29
5. add in Bullet3 HOB skimmer. RESULT PH across the board increase to 7.9 - 8.31
6. move outside co2 scrubbed air from airstones to primary air intake on skimmer
across the board increase to .....------>>>>>>> 8.1 to 8.5<<<<<<<<------ and still increasing
Notes:
7. I am using Limewater and somewhere in the above process I also started increasing limewater and reducing fresh and alkaline solution.
8. Also BLOXYGEN is absolutely a critical part of how I keep my limewater (kalkwasser) from reacting at all. Strongly encourage anyone not familiar with it to check it out. It's expensive ARGON but it does the job. Used this a lot in my days as a carpenter to keep all my various paints/thinners/ etc.. stored for a long long time. (heavier than air, so you squirt/spray/dispense this on top of your container, voila, anything that can react with LimeWater is now prevented from reaching the solution. Argon is INERT so no reaction of any kind... Go Chemistry!
I consider the above steps (while some might say excessive) a significant victory in my attempts to grow more healthier corals
Rich S.