pH Issues

[Seminoles76]

Not to bring up a highly debated topic but you could always give nano bubbling a shot. I have never tried it but would if I was in your position with a new setup. the theory sounds good to me in that you are degassing with the nano bubbles. You could put an aqua lifter pump in the window sill and run a long airline to the sump. Maybe worth a shot and maybe not. Hope you get it sorted. On a positive note, once you get corals in you can get some Kalk in there to raise you up to acceptable ranges.
Cheers

 

[OMGitsManBearPig]

I think this hasn’t been suggested because he’d be gassing the tank with 4000 ppm co2.
Would it help? Maybe - but it isn’t solving his problem.

EDIT - ah ... I misread where you are stating you’d run an airline outside. Yes - that would reduce co2 in the tank.Not sure where the “highly debated” part of this comes in. THis is academic in the planted aquarium world. Nobody bubbles air or allows surface breakage in planted tanks because it will cause co2 to drop.

 

[Seminoles76]

Agree with you on the co2 reduction. The debated aspects of nano bubbling actually relate more to the other positive benefits of the bubbling, i.e.. increased coral growth. lower nutrients, etc.
I only brought up the bubbling because OP stated he couldn't get a skimmer airline to the outside. With an aqualifter pump, introducing outside air to the tank should be achievable, regardless of how far the run it is to the window.
Interesting info on the planted tank and not letting the surface break. Makes complete sense.

 

[Dono]

Soo I got my ambient CO2 down from 4000-5000ppm to like 1000~ (+- 300).

Some backstory, and I feel very terrible for being so wreckless. I’m a sales rep that regularly has to handle large quantities of dry ice (50-100lbs) when shipping back product. I’ve always kept the box in a closet that I thought was well-ventilated, but apparently now. I’m thanking my reefing habit for forcing me to hunt down a problem I didn’t know I had, and potentially saving the health of me and my family.

On going issues...

I still have kind of low pH with a scrubber currently running. After I vented the condo, and removed the dry ice to my balcony storage closet, the pH went from 7.3 to 7.9! I’m stable over 24hr at 7.9pH (+- 0.03pH). So, it’s SUPER stable. What I’m wondering though is if I keep it that stable at 7.9 pH:

-Will that still be too low for SPS dominant?

-Is my condo being between 900-1300ppm CO2 going to create a hard limit for me raising my pH? I find it hard to believe my pH won’t rise above 7.9 with the scrubber running?

 

[OMGitsManBearPig]

Hey that'll do it! Stop trucking in Co2 into your home and the numbers won't rise so excessively! The remaining high Co2 in your home is going to depress your PH. So, that may be your number. If you find that SPS aren't doing so hot, then perhaps it's time to start scrubbing co2 out of the air you are feeding into your skimmer. There are DIY solution s and the one that BRS sells comes to mind immediately.

@Lasse has a pretty inexpensive and effective design he made on his personal tank. I think it's like post 130 something. (EDIT - from his personal tank build log)

The BRS one can be searched pretty easy by going to their website and searching Co2 Scrubber

 

[Dono]

Hey that'll do it! Stop trucking in Co2 into your home and the numbers won't rise so excessively! The remaining high Co2 in your home is going to depress your PH. So, that may be your number. If you find that SPS aren't doing so hot, then perhaps it's time to start scrubbing co2 out of the air you are feeding into your skimmer. There are DIY solution s and the one that BRS sells comes to mind immediately.

@Lasse has a pretty inexpensive and effective design he made on his personal tank. I think it's like post 130 something.

The BRS one can be searched pretty easy by going to their website and searching Co2 Scrubber

Thanks for the reply. CO2 leveled off like I said, but even with a scrubber right now I can’t get ph over 7.9 and it’s dropping to 7.7 over night. I have macro growing like a weed already in my fuge too.

Still left scratching my head.

 

[OMGitsManBearPig]

I'm sorry - I must have missed the part where you said you already had a scrubber. My apologies.

A few ideas come to mind. These both are assuming the co2 in your home is still the culprit for the low pH.

One - reduce (I know, it's backwards from normal) your surface tension on the tank and see what happens... It highly unlikely but I suppose possible that you're still picking up co2 from the atmosphere. It would be an interesting experiment. If nothing happens or co2 goes up, then increase surface tension now that you have the massive reduction in in-home co2. I doubt this will make a big impact since you are injecting cleaned air into your skimmer.

Two - tee off another airline from your scrubber feeding a bubbler in a turbulent area of your sump - if you have a big sump with a spare chamber - which I certainly don't have... maybe bubbling your top off container... I'm firing off ideas to better utilize the the scrubber you have. This is likely going to be a bit of experimentation.

Final step - still consider making your home less sealed. In a home this well sealed, when one of your family gets sick - you all do, I'm just willing to bet. There are numerous reason for having better ventilation. Maybe you'll just have to have a schedule where you suck it up and open a few windows for a bit. Not ideal, but you can't live in a bubble. It's just not healthy.

PS - get some plants in that house! They'll grow like weeds.

 

[Dono]

I'm sorry - I must have missed the part where you said you already had a scrubber. My apologies.

A few ideas come to mind. These both are assuming the co2 in your home is still the culprit for the low pH.

One - reduce (I know, it's backwards from normal) your surface tension on the tank and see what happens... It highly unlikely but I suppose possible that you're still picking up co2 from the atmosphere. It would be an interesting experiment. If nothing happens or co2 goes up, then increase surface tension now that you have the massive reduction in in-home co2. I doubt this will make a big impact since you are injecting cleaned air into your skimmer.

Two - tee off another airline from your scrubber feeding a bubbler in a turbulent area of your sump - if you have a big sump with a spare chamber - which I certainly don't have... maybe bubbling your top off container... I'm firing off ideas to better utilize the the scrubber you have. This is likely going to be a bit of experimentation.

Final step - still consider making your home less sealed. In a home this well sealed, when one of your family gets sick - you all do, I'm just willing to bet. There are numerous reason for having better ventilation. Maybe you'll just have to have a schedule where you suck it up and open a few windows for a bit. Not ideal, but you can't live in a bubble. It's just not healthy.

PS - get some plants in that house! They'll grow like weeds.

I like the idea of experimenting with a tee’d off line from my scrubber. I actually moved my return lines lower in the tank and reduced my MP40s by 10% in each mode to help reduce surface agitation but I did it the same time I added the scrubber so I’m not sure which worked .

I’ll definitely look into indoor plants but I’ll need something low maintenance. 80 hour work weeks with a reef tank is already wild enough

 

[Seminoles76]

I like the idea of experimenting with a tee’d off line from my scrubber. I actually moved my return lines lower in the tank and reduced my MP40s by 10% in each mode to help reduce surface agitation but I did it the same time I added the scrubber so I’m not sure which worked .

I’ll definitely look into indoor plants but I’ll need something low maintenance. 80 hour work weeks with a reef tank is already wild enough

You are actually fine right now with 7.7 - 7.9. I think your overall concern is that those numbers are too low for coral.
You have a young tank as of right now. As the tank matures and you add coral, you will effectively increase photosynthesis and drive off extra co2 that way during the daytime tank hours. In addition, when your tank gets to that point, you can start adding Kalk which will boost your levels into the 8's. I would call it good for now and wait and see what happens once you start adding coral and having to maintain Alk/Calc. There are also a bunch of reefers out there that run amazing SPS tanks at those levels.