Looking to increase pH

[LacroixBoy]

I have a 20-gallon starter tank going and I'm struggling to keep pH up. I'm currently hand-dosing all-for-reef every day as well as some coral AB+. My pH hovers around 8.00 most days. I would get some outside air in, but it's very cold here in Massachusetts currently so I don't think that would be best. I don't run a skimmer and I would like to avoid adding one since I'm trying to use my back chamber for biological filtration (marine pure spheres and copepods).

What's the best way to get my pH up to 8.3? I'm considering using a "ph increaser" like the one linked below, but I'm skeptical.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/ph-l...=17931&indexName=brs_prod_m2_default_products
Parameters:
pH - 8.02
calcium - 445 ppm
Nitrate - 10 ppm
Salinity - 35

Thanks!

 

[bubbgee]

I used that but it will increase your alkalinity as well. I dont see you testing your alk in your parameter list. Just read up on alk and ph relationship to understand what you can do to increase pH aside from a protein skimmer and CO2 scrubber.

Note: AFR has a carbon dosing component that suppresses pH. That is the reason why I stopped using it.

 

[LacroixBoy]

Sorry forgot to add!

Alkalinity - 9 dKH

 

[bubbgee]

We ran some experiments with pH boosting with air stones if you are interested.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/m...-outdoor-aeration-ph-boost-stability.1084802/
Since Alk in AFR is capped by calcium, you won't see any pH benefits you would have gotten from a 2/3 part dosing or kalkwasser. Truth is, a low pH is not an issue for softies and LPS (within 7.8 to 8 pH), but more advantageous if you have SPS which I don't see visibly on your tank pic. How low does your pH go in your tank in the middle of the night?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

There’s no chemical dosing way to increase pH without increasing alkalinity, and nothing works better in that way than hydroxide.

 

[LacroixBoy]

Are there benefits for LPS and softies at higher pH levels?

Are you saying that product wouldn't harm things?

 

[ncjeepguy75]

I noticed a big difference with stabilizing my pH and alk when I started a constant drip of Kalkwasser. And yes, I dose All For Reef in addition to Kalk every day. Kalk is the main player but augment with AFR. It has been really cold here in North Carolina too so I had to take my skimmer air line out of my window and so far my pH and alk dipped just a little but have remained constant. I agree with @Randy Holmes-Farley regarding hydroxide as a way to help with pH. I have dosed small amounts of sodium hydroxide if I feel pH is getting a bit low and it seems to bump up the pH with only a minor change to alk.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Are there benefits for LPS and softies at higher pH levels?

Are you saying that product wouldn't harm things?

It will boost alk and is no better at raising oh per unit of alk than us inexpensive food grade sodium hydroxide, but if you need alk, either is ok. Both should be added in small amounts to a high flow area.

Hard corals may benefit, I would not assume soft corals benefit.

 

[bubbgee]

Randy sold me on sodium hydroxide and I just made a 2 liter batch. Still trying to figure out the bolus dose in the morning. 40 ml at concentration adds .44 to pH -- my low is 7.96 before lights on and 1.39 dkh, which is a bit too high for my tastes. Would prefer a max of 1dkh increase for slightly lower pH.

Kalk is tricky for me to dose since it takes me 1L of kalk to get a decent amount of pH at night (.1 boost) while adding little alk and cal at max concentration. More dose means lower salinity. I'd rather take the higher alk than a salinity drop.

 

[bubbgee]

Are there benefits for LPS and softies at higher pH levels?

Are you saying that product wouldn't harm things?

My euphyllia have split since driving pH up. My zoas have been multiplying rapidly now like my GMK colony which barely grows a new head in months, now added a couple more the past couple of weeks tinkering with Sodium Hydroxide dosing. Duncans definity enjoy the high pH with additional heads sprouting.

No changes to my high end mushrooms or anemones though.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Randy sold me on sodium hydroxide and I just made a 2 liter batch. Still trying to figure out the bolus dose in the morning. 40 ml at concentration adds .44 to pH -- my low is 7.96 before lights on and 1.39 dkh, which is a bit too high for my tastes. Would prefer a max of 1dkh increase for slightly lower pH.

Kalk is tricky for me to dose since it takes me 1L of kalk to get a decent amount of pH at night (.1 boost) while adding little alk and cal at max concentration. More dose means lower salinity. I'd rather take the higher alk than a salinity drop.

If you do not want to spread out the dosing (which is highly recommended for sodium hydroxide dosing) you can have a smaller pH boost from sodium carbonate or a mix of carbonate and hydroxide.

 

[mook1178]

Alkalinity at 9 and pH at 8.0. Where is the problem? That is better than most natural reefs.

 

[56longroof]

There’s no chemical dosing way to increase pH without increasing alkalinity, and nothing works better in that way than hydroxide.

Do you have a chart for mixing and dosing? Or do you just mix per instructions on the package?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Do you have a chart for mixing and dosing? Or do you just mix per instructions on the package?

Option 2 here:

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/diy-three-part-with-balling-part-c-recipe.1063575/

 

[bubbgee]

If you do not want to spread out the dosing (which is highly recommended for sodium hydroxide dosing) you can have a smaller pH boost from sodium carbonate or a mix of carbonate and hydroxide.

Nah, I like your sodium hydroxide formula. I just need to tinker with the dosing and timing of it. So I dose everything in one go at 5:30am (lights turn on at 6am) and let trident test as scheduled at 6am and let it ride. I reduced my dose to 35ml first and will see tomorrow how it looks like.