PH Thoughts/Question

[Ric878]

So, I'm new to the hobby and have a new setup (12 Weeks old). My goal is to have a fish and mixed reef setup. About 3 weeks ago, I installed a Coralvue Hydros controller that came with a PH probe. Over the last few weeks, I've been monitoring PH and doing some reading on what the ideal PH is. My PH bounces between 7.80 and 7.91. This has stayed fairly consistent. Based on my research, coral does better at a PH closer to 8.30. I read that excess carbon dioxide in the home can lower PH and that letting some fresh air into the home could increase it. Unfortunately, our weather had been really hot for some time so this wasn't really an option until recently.

Yesterday, our outside temperature dropped and my wife opened nearly every window in the house and within hours, the tank PH started climbing. Today, it peaked out at 8.18. So, it would seem that excess carbon dioxide is in fact my issue. Based on my research, my options are:

Keep windows open (not practical. I live in Northern Illinois and we have really cold winters and really hot summers)
Run an airline from outside to my skimmer intake (Might be doable but I'm concerned with this approach. First, the line would not be discrete without some serious work. Second, my neighbor has a pesticide and lawn service which spays stuff everywhere, especially the pesticide service. They do mosquito spraying about every 6 weeks from spring to late fall.
Run a CO2 scrubber in front of my skimmers air intake (Seems to be the most practical solution at this point in time)

My questions are, am I missing anything? What other options are there? Are there any issues/concerns with running a CO2 scrubber?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Yazannreef]

Co2 scrubber will help. Just make sure to put your skimmer on a ph controller to shut off when reached desired pH.
Dosing 2 part will also increase pH. Higher KH results in higher pH but that is too soon for you since your tank is still fairly new and probably don't need dosing as of yet.

 

[Borgan weekend reef]

Me toooo

 

[Dkmoo]

Great job doing your homework! I wish more new reefers are like you!

What do you currently dose for alkaninity? If you are dosing primarily sodium Bicaronates, the switching to sodium Carbonates will boost pH. Especially if you have an autodoser you can space them out throughout the day, or space them out over only the night to counteract the night drop.

Other option is to add a refugium to increase your algae CO2 processors.

Co2 scrubber will be effective, as other mentioned.

I wouldn't use airline to outside specifically due to the air quality issues.

I had consistently 7.7 pH, switching to autodoser with sodium carbonate posted it to 7.9. Adding scrubber increased it to 8.2

Consider the recirculating scrubber setup if yiu don't want to burn thru your media. Mine has lasted 4 months, instead of the typical 1 month or less

One FINAL SUPEREFFECTIVE METHOD THAT IS GUARANTEED TO WORK: hold your breath.

 

[Ric878]

Great job doing your homework! I wish more new reefers are like you!

What do you currently dose for alkaninity? If you are dosing primarily sodium Bicaronates, the switching to sodium Carbonates will boost pH. Especially if you have an autodoser you can space them out throughout the day, or space them out over only the night to counteract the night drop.

Other option is to add a refugium to increase your algae CO2 processors.

Co2 scrubber will be effective, as other mentioned.

I wouldn't use airline to outside specifically due to the air quality issues.

I had consistently 7.7 pH, switching to autodoser with sodium carbonate posted it to 7.9. Adding scrubber increased it to 8.2

Consider the recirculating scrubber setup if yiu don't want to burn thru your media. Mine has lasted 4 months, instead of the typical 1 month or less

One FINAL SUPEREFFECTIVE METHOD THAT IS GUARANTEED TO WORK: hold your breath.

Haha, holding my breath comment made me laugh. Thanks for the compliment, I tend to drive myself nuts with research but it almost always pays off.

At this point, I am not dosing. I haven't added any coral yet as I was trying to make sure everything was good to go with my tank otherwise. I'm considering adding some this weekend if everything checks out today with my parameters.

I am definitely looking into the recirculating setup. I've done some homework and I feel it is fairly straightforward. I just want to make sure I get a water level sensor for the skimmer first.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Dkmoo]

Haha, holding my breath comment made me laugh. Thanks for the compliment, I tend to drive myself nuts with research but it almost always pays off.

At this point, I am not dosing. I haven't added any coral yet as I was trying to make sure everything was good to go with my tank otherwise. I'm considering adding some this weekend if everything checks out today with my parameters.

I am definitely looking into the recirculating setup. I've done some homework and I feel it is fairly straightforward. I just want to make sure I get a water level sensor for the skimmer first.

Thanks for the feedback.

No problem and good luck

Since you haven't added corals yet, just keep in mind that softies will not be as sensitive to pH bc they have no bones. LPS should be OK at 7.8 to 7.9, at least in the short term, as long as your other conditions are good. (Granted, 8.1 to 8.3 is still best). SpS will most be sensitive to this, but you probably won't be getting them as a starter coral.

Once you have enough daily alk consumption that will start to require daily dosing (ways down the line), it will open up more options for pH, like sodium carbonate, or kalkwasser

We all learn along the way in this hobby. Hope you enjoy the journey.

 

[Calm Blue Ocean]

When opening windows isn't an option try running any exhaust fans in your house (kitchen or bathroom). You're probably not going to hit that magical 8.3 with just that but it can still give you a bit of a bump.