PH Advice Please

brandomoore1819

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 26, 2022
Messages
20
Reaction score
25
Location
Sanford
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 8, 2016
Messages
8,180
Reaction score
8,127
Location
CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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?
 

Ben.QLD2

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 24, 2021
Messages
286
Reaction score
247
Location
Queensland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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.
 
OP
OP
B

brandomoore1819

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 26, 2022
Messages
20
Reaction score
25
Location
Sanford
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Nov 24, 2021
Messages
286
Reaction score
247
Location
Queensland
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
May 28, 2022
Messages
770
Reaction score
666
Location
florida
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

2C8C62CB-932F-4CC7-B0C1-5E0E27EAC839.png
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
B

brandomoore1819

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 26, 2022
Messages
20
Reaction score
25
Location
Sanford
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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.
 
OP
OP
B

brandomoore1819

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 26, 2022
Messages
20
Reaction score
25
Location
Sanford
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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

7500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
May 16, 2019
Messages
8,055
Reaction score
31,574
Location
Michigan
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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.
 
OP
OP
B

brandomoore1819

New Member
View Badges
Joined
Feb 26, 2022
Messages
20
Reaction score
25
Location
Sanford
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
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.
 

Attachments

  • 39B194EF-F199-47CC-9B06-6EA75CF31F2E.jpeg
    39B194EF-F199-47CC-9B06-6EA75CF31F2E.jpeg
    57.7 KB · Views: 13

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 68 37.6%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 60 33.1%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 13.8%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 15.5%
  • Other.

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top