PH Advice Please

[brandomoore1819]

Looking for some advice please. I’m having issues keeping my ph up. I have a brs co2 scrubber. I switched to medical grade media to see if that helps. I also ran a line outside for fresh air. I have no more that 10 feet of tubing going to everything. I can’t get it above 7.7-7.8. I have a cheap coralife skimmer, could this be the problem? Do I need a better skimmer that flows more air? 54 gallon corner aquarium with an Eshopps RS-75 sump. Should I start looking at other options such as Kalkwasser?

 

[Dburr1014]

Looking for some advice please. I’m having issues keeping my ph up. I have a brs co2 scrubber. I switched to medical grade media to see if that helps. I also ran a line outside for fresh air. I have no more that 10 feet of tubing going to everything. I can’t get it above 7.7-7.8. I have a cheap coralife skimmer, could this be the problem? Do I need a better skimmer that flows more air? 54 gallon corner aquarium with an Eshopps RS-75 sump. Should I start looking at other options such as Kalkwasser?

When was the last time you calibrated the monitor?
Have you used Kalk at all?

 

[brandomoore1819]

When was the last time you calibrated the monitor?
Have you used Kalk at all?

Less that a month ago. 21 days to be exact when I set up my hydros system. I have never used kalk before and know nothing about it.

 

[Ben.QLD2]

Skimmers are great for aeration, and removal of proteinaceous waste of course, and a skimmer with a CO2 scrubber is even better, but they shouldn't be the only means of aeration.

Doea the surface of your tank water get broken with ripples from current? Does your overflow skim from surface water?

You could try recirculating the skimmer air to increase oxygen.

What's your alkalinity? A low alkalinity can cause water to not have the ability to generate a higher pH.

Specifically regarding pH though, don't go chasing numbers too much. Provided everything is healthy then stability is better than a higher pH.

 

[brandomoore1819]

Skimmers are great for aeration, and removal of proteinaceous waste of course, and a skimmer with a CO2 scrubber is even better, but they shouldn't be the only means of aeration.

Doea the surface of your tank water get broken with ripples from current? Does your overflow skim from surface water?

You could try recirculating the skimmer air to increase oxygen.

What's your alkalinity? A low alkalinity can cause water to not have the ability to generate a higher pH.

Specifically regarding pH though, don't go chasing numbers too much. Provided everything is healthy then stability is better than a higher pH.

Surface gets broke with the return it’s very close to the top. My overflow is a hang on back from Eshopps so yes it’s skimmed from the top. I can try recirculating. I don’t have that connected right now but it’s easy to do and I have all the parts to do so. Alk is 8.9 tested 3 days ago.

 

[Ben.QLD2]

I've found that recirculating can help, but you just need to keep a close eye on the skimmer to make sure it doesn't overreact and cause skimmate to be sucked I to the CO2 absorbing media. I found it too much of a pain in the .... So now my scrubber just drags in air room.

If that helps, then great. Otherwise just don't worry too much about it unless your tank inhabitants aren't happy.

 

[Gatorpa]

You can get a cheap CO2 meter on amazon or ebay, measure the Co2 in the room and that will tell you where the main issue is.

Atmospheric CO2 levels are the biggest driver of tanks in houses(if the DkH is at acceptable levels).

Here is a shot of my last few days with windows open on occasion.

Today we had 20 people over and it was warm some the windows were closed.
My CO2 monitor went off at 1850 ppm. You can see the pH dipping and then start popping back up when I opened a window in the room with the tank.

Pretty neat IMHO

 

[brandomoore1819]

I've found that recirculating can help, but you just need to keep a close eye on the skimmer to make sure it doesn't overreact and cause skimmate to be sucked I to the CO2 absorbing media. I found it too much of a pain in the .... So now my scrubber just drags in air room.

If that helps, then great. Otherwise just don't worry too much about it unless your tank inhabitants aren't happy.

I had it recirculated before I ran the line outside. The biggest issue I had was moisture buildup in the line. Was a pain to have to empty it almost every day. That was the main reason I ran the fresh air line outside.

 

[brandomoore1819]

You can get a cheap CO2 meter on amazon or ebay, measure the Co2 in the room and that will tell you where the main issue is.

Atmospheric CO2 levels are the biggest driver of tanks in houses(if the DkH is at acceptable levels).

Alk is 8.9 tested 3 days ago. I’ll look into the co2 meter.

 

[Sean Clark]

How is your livestock looking? Chasing numbers is what gets a lot of people into trouble. If things are looking good then stop chasing phantom problems that are designed to sell you consumable products.

 

[Gatorpa]

Alk is 8.9 tested 3 days ago. I’ll look into the co2 meter.

See my edit above with a recent chart. Clear as day.

Wife wants to know why I care about the CO2 in the house now..LOL

 

[brandomoore1819]

See my edit above with a recent chart. Clear as day.

Wife wants to know why I care about the CO2 in the house now..LOL

Yeah. Mine is terrible. We didn’t have any people over. I just changed media tonight too so I’ll see what happens between now and tomorrow. I also just bought a co2 meter because I’m curious now.