Kalk and CO2 scrubber not raising ph enough

[jimmypencil]

total system volume is 50 gallons. i keep alk at 8.3 with kalkwasser and the temp is between (77-77.5) i test ph through apex EL probe.

I have a tunze 9004 dc skimmer, attached to a brs scrubber using icecap media. i dose 400 ml kalkwasser (1.5 tsp per gallon) or .2-.3 dkh worth daily on continuous mode with versa pump. i have great surface agitation with return pump nozzles pointed towards the water surface.

the past two months, in addition to what i mentioned above, during the day i have been opening the windows in my room (the tank is in my room) and turning the ac off. at night i close the window and turn on the ac. this has kept my ph between 8.05-8.2. I figured the temperature outside was in the 60s-70s so there was no reason not to open the window and boost ph even more.

recently its gotten hotter so i cant keep the window open and my ph has been between 7.85-8.05. this has been causing issues with alk uptake and causing me to adjust the kalkwasser dosing making it even harder to raise ph.

is this skimmer too small to benefit ph with a co2 scrubber? is 400ml kalkwasser not enough in a 50 gallon system to raise ph? is surface agitation raising ph or does it depend?

i have raised the skimmer a bit so i could increase the air intake, havent seen a difference. i increased surface agitation by increasing flow on return pump, haven't seen a difference. kalkwasser hasnt created a noticeable difference on ph since i started dosing months ago.

I'm going to keep the windows closed from now on just to keep the system stable and try to go from there.

 

[jimmypencil]

also when my girlfriend comes over (we both sleep in my room) it significantly drops ph (atleast .1-.2). shes a co2 machine lol.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

I have a similar setup. Nyos 120 skimmer with a recirculating attachment. Tank is 53G total volume. I dose 14ml of soda ash with 400ml of Kalk. Kalk dosing starts at 6pm ...lights dimming around that time kalk dosing is using done by 11:30pm. at 12am I dose soda ash in small doses... 1-2ml at every hour till its complete. Its working very well for me.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

My Co2 media last at least 2 weeks with the recirculating setup. Using the Phosban 150 reactor

 

[jimmypencil]

I have a similar setup. Nyos 120 skimmer with a recirculating attachment. Tank is 53G total volume. I dose 14ml of soda ash with 400ml of Kalk. Kalk dosing starts at 6pm ...lights dimming around that time kalk dosing is using done by 11:30pm. at 12am I dose soda ash in small doses... 1-2ml at every hour till its complete. Its working very well for me.

Nice! well your skimmer is more than double the size and the soda ash certainly helps.

 

[jimmypencil]

My Co2 media last at least 2 weeks with the recirculating setup. Using the Phosban 150 reactor

i guess ill change the media out and see if it helps. maybe i got a bad batch because since i put it in i havent seen a difference but it was working with previous media. what media are you using?

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

This one.

Jorgensen Laboratories JorVet Soda Lime, 5 Gallon | Med-Vet International

JorVet soda lime is a high-grade granular product that effectively absorbs carbon dioxide that is produced as an anesthesia by-product. It is a mixture of calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 also known as lime plus a smaller amount of sodium hydroxide NaOH. Upon exposure to carbon dioxide CO2, the calcium...

www.shopmedvet.com

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Alk is pegged at 8.5 DKH

 

[Rowboman]

I’ve struggled with the same issues through winter in my apartment with 3 humans and 70 Lbs of dog mass m, haha. My systems 52 gallons, same CO2 scrubber on a recirculating setup, I dose 900-1400 ml of kalk (my dosage keeps changing because the pH is causing swings in alk uptake), I mix my kalk with 3 Tsp/gal to make sure it hits a Ph of 12.4 and only use the clear supernate, open the windows as much as my wife will allow, and still it was dropping to 7.8 at night. What I’ve done recently that’s helping is SLOWLY raise my alk and calcium levels to increase uptake from my stony corals which allows me to dose more Kalk and thus have a greater pH effect. It’s definitely working seeing as my pH never drops below 8.1 now and I’ve only raised my dKh from 9 to 9.9 so far. I plan to raise it to 11 (I’ve ran it this high before with no issues). Wouldn’t recommend running alk this high to everyone and every tank, but if you struggle with pH and have ruled out all other options it’s something I might think about

 

[jimmypencil]

This one.

Jorgensen Laboratories JorVet Soda Lime, 5 Gallon | Med-Vet International

JorVet soda lime is a high-grade granular product that effectively absorbs carbon dioxide that is produced as an anesthesia by-product. It is a mixture of calcium hydroxide Ca(OH)2 also known as lime plus a smaller amount of sodium hydroxide NaOH. Upon exposure to carbon dioxide CO2, the calcium...

www.shopmedvet.com

awesome i just ordered this. Resealable and easy to fill?

 

[DaScubaSteve]

I was around 8 to 8.1 ph before running an air hose from outside to the air intake of my skimmer was getting up to 8.4 ph during the day but found it dropping by .2 at night. Then I started running an AI prime on my fuge on a reverse schedule at night and now it only fluctuates by .1 ph

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

awesome i just ordered this. Resealable and easy to fill?

Yes , comes in resealable plastic container just like the screenshot

 

[jimmypencil]

I was around 8 to 8.1 ph before running an air hose from outside to the air intake of my skimmer was getting up to 8.4 ph during the day but found it dropping by .2 at night. Then I started running an AI prime on my fuge on a reverse schedule at night and now it only fluctuates by .1 ph

Ideally I would like to run the air line outside but it’s not viable in my room. Also I can’t use a fuge rn because I gotta dose neophos daily to keep it around .05 lol.
That sounds like a great set up though!

 

[jimmypencil]

total system volume is 50 gallons. i keep alk at 8.3 with kalkwasser and the temp is between (77-77.5) i test ph through apex EL probe.

I have a tunze 9004 dc skimmer, attached to a brs scrubber using icecap media. i dose 400 ml kalkwasser (1.5 tsp per gallon) or .2-.3 dkh worth daily on continuous mode with versa pump. i have great surface agitation with return pump nozzles pointed towards the water surface.

the past two months, in addition to what i mentioned above, during the day i have been opening the windows in my room (the tank is in my room) and turning the ac off. at night i close the window and turn on the ac. this has kept my ph between 8.05-8.2. I figured the temperature outside was in the 60s-70s so there was no reason not to open the window and boost ph even more.

recently its gotten hotter so i cant keep the window open and my ph has been between 7.85-8.05. this has been causing issues with alk uptake and causing me to adjust the kalkwasser dosing making it even harder to raise ph.

is this skimmer too small to benefit ph with a co2 scrubber? is 400ml kalkwasser not enough in a 50 gallon system to raise ph? is surface agitation raising ph or does it depend?

i have raised the skimmer a bit so i could increase the air intake, havent seen a difference. i increased surface agitation by increasing flow on return pump, haven't seen a difference. kalkwasser hasnt created a noticeable difference on ph since i started dosing months ago.

I'm going to keep the windows closed from now on just to keep the system stable and try to go from there.

I ended up taking a little bit of media out of the co2 scrubber because I suspected there was too much and it wasn’t allowing for good air flow. This did make the ph about .1 higher today!

 

[DenaliDan]

How did you hook up your CO2 scrubber to the 9004 skimmer? If you extended the airline, did it make a difference in the skimming?

 

[jimmypencil]

How did you hook up your CO2 scrubber to the 9004 skimmer? If you extended the airline, did it make a difference in the skimming?

No difference in the skimming. I used this barber adapter straight to the BRS scrubber

 

[Superd513]

also when my girlfriend comes over (we both sleep in my room) it significantly drops ph (atleast .1-.2). shes a co2 machine lol.

Co2 machines. lol

 

[Saltyanimals]

Decisions decisions. Girlfriend or aquarium. Hmmmm
Jk. Your numbers are not bad at all.
I would lean towards your skimmer not providing enough airflow over the media especially for a thinner airline. However scrubbing hasn’t boosted mine enough to stay committed.

Check your pH probes too by testing it on a known calibration standard first to see if you even need to calibrate.

Other thing is to try running at a higher alk as someone mentioned but this is largely based on your corals. Getting into 9-10 easier corals no problem. I would pause a bit personally running fancy sps higher than that range especially when you’re going to expect fluctuations.

 

[ajnies]

Decisions decisions. Girlfriend or aquarium. Hmmmm
Jk. Your numbers are not bad at all.
I would lean towards your skimmer not providing enough airflow over the media especially for a thinner airline. However scrubbing hasn’t boosted mine enough to stay committed.

Check your pH probes too by testing it on a known calibration standard first to see if you even need to calibrate.

Other thing is to try running at a higher alk as someone mentioned but this is largely based on your corals. Getting into 9-10 easier corals no problem. I would pause a bit personally running fancy sps higher than that range especially when you’re going to expect fluctuations.

Second this, check your calibration before doing anything. I’ve have relatively new probes be of by .2 after not being calibrated for 2 months.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

total system volume is 50 gallons. i keep alk at 8.3 with kalkwasser and the temp is between (77-77.5) i test ph through apex EL probe.

I have a tunze 9004 dc skimmer, attached to a brs scrubber using icecap media. i dose 400 ml kalkwasser (1.5 tsp per gallon) or .2-.3 dkh worth daily on continuous mode with versa pump. i have great surface agitation with return pump nozzles pointed towards the water surface.

I know this is an older post, but that amount of kalkwasser is very low. If the goal is pH raising, you might want to add 5 times that amount. Even if all is added instantly, the pH boost is about 0.1 pH unit. Spread it out and the effect will be quite low.