pH is too low, but alk is fine. Best ways to raise pH without boosting alk?

[Joe31415]

The OP doesn't have a skimmer which would be necessary for the scrubber.

I missed that. Rereading it, the OP mentions space as being the issue. I have no idea how big his sump (or tank) is, but some brands make skimmers with fairly small footprints. I believe you can also get external ones, if he has a place to put it, or even a HOB model.
Also, there seems to be a small/quiet movement towards removing filter socks/cups and letting the skimmer do all the work. Never quite made sense to me, but I really haven't looked into it. That could be an option as well for freeing up space.

In any case, I'd still suggest doing test with the airpump and airstone. With any luck, the water that he tests inside will show an increase in pH and he may be able to raise his PH by running an airstone in the sump (somewhere where all the bubbles can fully dissapate before getting to the return pump).
Being able to fix your pH problem with nothing more than an air pump (or a well placed power head, even in the sump) is probably about the best solution you could ask for. No chemicals, no ongoing expense, just one tiny inexpensive piece of gear.

 

[Retroreef]

As well as it works I don’t open my windows for the ph numb because it’s not sustainable year round. Ph up consumption up alk drops. I keep mostly acros and like to keep things from moving much. I have a big skimmer co2 scrubber recirculating great flow and with my reactor melting media at 6.3 dkh 40ml/min I range from 7.95-8.2 I’ve become ok with these numbers now.

 

[NDIrish]

Like others said, figure out if it's a fresh air issue. You can try opening windows, but that, as a test, that may not be conclusive and in any case, it might not work for you (ie, if you live in Wisconsin and 10 months of the year it's blistering hot or below freezing).
But you can still do the fresh air test.
Take some tank water and run an a pump/airstone to it. Note the pH, let the pump run for an hour and check the pH again. If the pH goes up, you need to find a way to better aerate your tank.
In the likely case that your pH remains the same, you're going to repeat the test except outside. Get some more tank water, and put the whole set up (or at least the pump) outdoors and let it run for an hour. If the pH is the same. Fresh air, or lack thereof, isn't the issue and you have to look elsewhere. However, if the pH does go up, than we can fix the problem pretty easily. The two main options being either to run a tube from outside to the intake of your protein skimmer or run an airline from a CO2 scrubber to your protein skimmer.

When I did the test, the inside one had no change, the outside one went up about about a half a point or so. I added a CO2 scrubber and the pH went up from something like 7.5-7.9 to 8.2-8.55.
I assume letting it get up that high is probably fine, but the DIY/techy in me wouldn't leave that alone. I used it as an excuse to upgrade from a pH monitor to a pH controller and a motorized ball valve that keeps it pretty close to 8.3 all the time.

What ph controller do use

 

[arking_mark]

As well as it works I don’t open my windows for the ph numb because it’s not sustainable year round. Ph up consumption up alk drops. I keep mostly acros and like to keep things from moving much. I have a big skimmer co2 scrubber recirculating great flow and with my reactor melting media at 6.3 dkh 40ml/min I range from 7.95-8.2 I’ve become ok with these numbers now.

Great #s

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I missed that. Rereading it, the OP mentions space as being the issue. I have no idea how big his sump (or tank) is, but some brands make skimmers with fairly small footprints. I believe you can also get external ones, if he has a place to put it, or even a HOB model.
Also, there seems to be a small/quiet movement towards removing filter socks/cups and letting the skimmer do all the work. Never quite made sense to me, but I really haven't looked into it. That could be an option as well for freeing up space.

In any case, I'd still suggest doing test with the airpump and airstone. With any luck, the water that he tests inside will show an increase in pH and he may be able to raise his PH by running an airstone in the sump (somewhere where all the bubbles can fully dissapate before getting to the return pump).
Being able to fix your pH problem with nothing more than an air pump (or a well placed power head, even in the sump) is probably about the best solution you could ask for. No chemicals, no ongoing expense, just one tiny inexpensive piece of gear.

The airstone idea is something I hadn't thought to try. I'll get that today to see if that helps. Great idea!

 

[Aquamind]

What about dosing a buffer product? I'm a newbie with a sumpless system, and I have similar problems. I keep my Alk at 9.5-10 and ph can still drop to 7.7 7.5 at times. Currently I've been using Aquavitro 8.4 for alkalinity and Aquavitro Balance to raise pH. This is a "hydroxide blend" and according to the bottle it's safe to dose every day. Does anyone else have experience with a similar product?

 

[Maximitsurugi]

What about dosing a buffer product? I'm a newbie with a sumpless system, and I have similar problems. I keep my Alk at 9.5-10 and ph can still drop to 7.7 7.5 at times. Currently I've been using Aquavitro 8.4 for alkalinity and Aquavitro Balance to raise pH. This is a "hydroxide blend" and according to the bottle it's safe to dose every day. Does anyone else have experience with a similar product?

Read my post on the first page. It is a hydroxide.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

What about dosing a buffer product? I'm a newbie with a sumpless system, and I have similar problems. I keep my Alk at 9.5-10 and ph can still drop to 7.7 7.5 at times. Currently I've been using Aquavitro 8.4 for alkalinity and Aquavitro Balance to raise pH. This is a "hydroxide blend" and according to the bottle it's safe to dose every day. Does anyone else have experience with a similar product?

The problem with buffers is that they usually also impact alkalinity. My alk is stable, so I'm trying to avoid things that would change the alk levels and adjust pH alone.

I'm currently looking at 2 viable solutions. 1) add an air stone or powerhead to the sump and/or 2) add a macroalgae reactor or ATS. The biggest issue I have is that I am severely limited on space under my tank in the sump.

However, we also just secured a bigger house (going from a 2-bedroom apartment to a 4-bedroom house), so the whole setup will be moving at the beginning of November and I'll be able to solve my space issues!!!

 

[Mical]

Add a small air pump w/airstone

 

[Maximitsurugi]

The problem with buffers is that they usually also impact alkalinity. My alk is stable, so I'm trying to avoid things that would change the alk levels and adjust pH alone.

I'm currently looking at 2 viable solutions. 1) add an air stone or powerhead to the sump and/or 2) add a macroalgae reactor or ATS. The biggest issue I have is that I am severely limited on space under my tank in the sump.

However, we also just secured a bigger house (going from a 2-bedroom apartment to a 4-bedroom house), so the whole setup will be moving at the beginning of November and I'll be able to solve my space issues!!!

If those two dknt work, try Randy's mix. All you are doing is using NaOh instead of Soda Ash. If your Alk is in the ratio of a BRS mix then you would mix it to that strength.

We are here to give you options but in the end, your wisdom and decisions are all that matter.

 

[Chris Spaulding]

I have had the problem of keeping my PH up. It was not a fresh air issue was due to Calcium Reactor. I started using https://www.brightwellaquatics.com/products/boost-ph-plus.php and it is doing the trick. Make sure you read the instructions thoroughly and go slow.

 

[MamaP]

Following. I tend to have the same issue. Opening windows is almost never feasible here in Central Florida, so interested to see what you do.

Also interested in learning more about the pH controller @Joe31415 mentioned! @Joe31415 can you elaborate?

 

[LRT]

Also following. In my sealed room air stone and pump doesn't do much and may even be counter productive pumping co2 air from the room into water.
Been thinking about getting a small inline air pump that I can T off my outside skimmer lines and see if that does the trick.

 

[Joe31415]

What ph controller do use

I just picked up the Milwaukee MC122. I think I grabbed it from Amazon as well as a motorized ball valve. My skimmer's silencer has two ports, so I ran one to the CO2 scrubber and one to the valve. The valve is open to fresh air. So when the pH is below 8.3, the valve closes and draws in all the air from the scrubber. When it's above 8.3 the valve opens. Technically it's drawing both fresh and scrubbed air, but considering there's no restrictions on the fresh air intake, it's pretty much all coming in that way. Before I added the controller and valve and had all the air coming in from the scrubber my pH jumped to about 8.5 and I wanted to get that under control (and not waste the media).

The airstone idea is something I hadn't thought to try. I'll get that today to see if that helps. Great idea!

Just test it first with some water in a jar. You should see the results (or lack thereof) in an hour instead of a day or more.

 

[NDIrish]

I just picked up the Milwaukee MC122. I think I grabbed it from Amazon as well as a motorized ball valve. My skimmer's silencer has two ports, so I ran one to the CO2 scrubber and one to the valve. The valve is open to fresh air. So when the pH is below 8.3, the valve closes and draws in all the air from the scrubber. When it's above 8.3 the valve opens. Technically it's drawing both fresh and scrubbed air, but considering there's no restrictions on the fresh air intake, it's pretty much all coming in that way. Before I added the controller and valve and had all the air coming in from the scrubber my pH jumped to about 8.5 and I wanted to get that under control (and not waste the media).

Just test it first with some water in a jar. You should see the results (or lack thereof) in an hour instead of a day or more.

Will you direct me to what ball valve you and how you connected to the controller?
Thanks

 

[Mical]

Also following. In my sealed room air stone and pump doesn't do much and may even be counter productive pumping co2 air from the room into water.
Been thinking about getting a small inline air pump that I can T off my outside skimmer lines and see if that does the trick.

You could always connect a CO2 scrubber to a small air pump then to air stone. I did this on my old 60gal when house was sealed tight.

 

[LRT]

You could always connect a CO2 scrubber to a small air pump then to air stone. I did this on my old 60gal when house was sealed tight.

This may be the route I end up going. I just wanted to see if I could get it done without co2 media and needing to exchange it. But yeah it may be inevitable.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I have had the problem of keeping my PH up. It was not a fresh air issue was due to Calcium Reactor. I started using https://www.brightwellaquatics.com/products/boost-ph-plus.php and it is doing the trick. Make sure you read the instructions thoroughly and go slow.

FWIW, despite the FALSE claims by Brightwell, that product is just a high pH alk supplement, using hydroxide, as in my DIY ultra high pH two part, or in limewater (kalkwasser).

 

[Joe31415]

Will you direct me to what ball valve you and how you connected to the controller?
Thanks

This is the valve I picked up. The pH controller has a 120v output (kinda). So, with that valve I just connected the wires up to a 12v transformer I had laying around from who knows what (an old router or something probably). The nice thing about these valves is that they draw almost no power when holding open, so just about any 9-24v transformer you have will work just fine. The only thing you'll need is a adapter to go from the valve to the tube. In my case, it was a Male 1/2"NPT to male 3/8" barb.
I have a similar valve (but 120v) for my RO system. I plugged it into a timer. Any time I need RO water I just set the timer for how long I want water to run for and I can walk away without worrying about it overflowing.

 

[Mical]

This may be the route I end up going. I just wanted to see if I could get it done without co2 media and needing to exchange it. But yeah it may be inevitable.

You can DIY a CO2 scrubber and I get media from -> https://www.shopmedvet.com/product/soda-lime-3-lb-bag/anesthesia-respiratory#minicart_a

I use the media in winter here in Minnesota on both of my tanks