Raising ph in nano using AFR

[rishma]

Sure
But not a bad thing to strive for either ?

Given the effort I put into it and made a whole thread about it, I clearly think it was worth it :)

But my tank was a couple years old at that point. I spent a bunch of time getting other parameters consistently where I wanted them before I tackled pH.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Well I guess reef zelements ph plus is based on hydroxide ?
How about something like brightwells ph boost + in my situation ? Or do you not recommend products like that

Nothing has a larger pH boost per unit alk added than kalk, which equals all other hydroxide products such as those mentioned.

 

[rtparty]

There is no reason to chase after the pH unless you are willing to drill holes in your home to bring in fresh air. It just isn't worth it IMO

 

[jonone]

There is no reason to chase after the pH unless you are willing to drill holes in your home to bring in fresh air. It just isn't worth it IMO

Well I already have a cupboard with a hole in it to the outside
So it just means running a air line in some trunking in my case

 

[jonone]

Given the effort I put into it and made a whole thread about it, I clearly think it was worth it :)

But my tank was a couple years old at that point. I spent a bunch of time getting other parameters consistently where I wanted them before I tackled pH.

Well I’m pretty happy with everything else in my case
It’s only my ph that’s slightly low and a airstone maybe a easy fix for me.

 

[Reign1]

There is no reason to chase after the pH unless you are willing to drill holes in your home to bring in fresh air. It just isn't worth it IMO

You dont need to drill holes in your home for this.

I am doing Kalk for evap. and AFR during the day now.
I am not drilling a hole in the wall anytime soon.
HYDROXIDE is your best bet if you want a slight ph bump.

 

[rishma]

Well I’m pretty happy with everything else in my case
It’s only my ph that’s slightly low and a airstone maybe an easy fix for me.

I don’t know if inundated that thread but I ended up with an Alita-15 air pump and a 2”x6” air stone. The pump is so strong have a tee with a valve to bleed some off.

Key message - its a massive amount of air to achieve the result I’m getting.

 

[rishma]

You dont need to drill holes in your home for this.

I am doing Kalk for evap. and AFR during the day now.
I am not drilling a hole in the wall anytime soon.
HYDROXIDE is your best bet if you want a slight ph bump.

I think hydroxide is a good option provided your alkalinity demand is high enough. I found air to be more consistent and zero maintenance. I’m sure my wife would have preferred I use hydroxide….

 

[jonone]

You dont need to drill holes in your home for this.

I am doing Kalk for evap. and AFR during the day now.
I am not drilling a hole in the wall anytime soon.
HYDROXIDE is your best bet if you want a slight ph bump.

I don’t seem to have the Kalk demand to get a ph boost
In my case a airstone would be easier and cleaner in the long run

 

[rishma]

I don’t seem to have the Kalk demand to get a ph boost
In my case a airstone would be easier and cleaner in the long run

Before you go buying a big air pump and routing tubing, etc. you should do the outdoor aeration test. Even a small air pump and stone will work. Take a cup of tank water, aerate vigorously outside for an hour, then check its pH. If you get a nice boost it tells you what you can achieve in the tank.

At the end of the day I get higher pH than my outdoor test and in the AM my tank pH is a little lower than my outdoor test. But it’s all much higher than my tank without outdoor air.

 

[bubbgee]

Nothing has a larger pH boost per unit alk added than kalk, which equals all other hydroxide products such as those mentioned.

You made me a believer in this!

I don’t seem to have the Kalk demand to get a ph boost
In my case a airstone would be easier and cleaner in the long run

The Kalk demand you can fix by putting fans to blow the surface. Evaporation rate will increase for you that way and you dose more kalk with your ATO.

 

[rishma]

You made me a believer in this!

The Kalk demand you can fix by putting fans to blow the surface. Evaporation rate will increase for you that way and you dose more kalk with your ATO.

Yes that will create more room to add Kalk, but if you alkalinity demand isn’t high enough it won’t matter. You will just be raising your alkalinity too much.

 

[rtparty]

You dont need to drill holes in your home for this.

I am doing Kalk for evap. and AFR during the day now.
I am not drilling a hole in the wall anytime soon.
HYDROXIDE is your best bet if you want a slight ph bump.

Randy has already confirmed a hydroxide in the amounts dosed here will not bump pH

So the other options are running a CO2 scrubber on a small skimmer (not worth the monthly fee) or drilling holes to get fresh air attached to a skimmer

 

[jonone]

You made me a believer in this!

The Kalk demand you can fix by putting fans to blow the surface. Evaporation rate will increase for you that way and you dose more kalk with your ATO.

I’m looking for the simplest solution and for me a air pump if it works is simpler and neater then kalk in my ato and fans on my tank

 

[jonone]

Randy has already confirmed a hydroxide in the amounts dosed here will not bump pH

So the other options are running a CO2 scrubber on a small skimmer (not worth the monthly fee) or drilling holes to get fresh air attached to a skimmer

Yeah I don’t have a skimmer so a air pump is simplest and I have a place it can go with a hole to put side etc

 

[Poseidon03]

Tank is 6 months old
Has some coraline growth, mainly small LPs adding some more sps in the coming weeks
Tank is doing fine at slightly lower ph but I’d like to achieve the optimum if easily achieveble for better growth / health of the corals which is normally associated with slightly higher ph

How much experience do you have with sps? Which sps in particular? Acropora, digitata, montipora?

The reason I ask is to see if the juice is worth the squeeze. In a 25 gal, the small amount of growth difference in even acropora would not be drastic since growth is exponential and you will need to be trimming pretty early in the age of the tank. Once you add things, your alk consumption will increase and you can just dose kalk, which will elevate the pH and help keep the alk stable.

For reference, this is the growth from October 2024 to April 2025 with a pH that swings from 8.0 to 8.1 daily. Sometimes it is 7.9 to 8.1 or lower if we have company over.

 

[rtparty]

Yeah I don’t have a skimmer so a air pump is simplest and I have a place it can go with a hole to put side etc

Worth a shot but I don't find it worth the trouble IME

 

[areefer01]

Chasing numbers. Season 2025, episode 105.

 

[jonone]

Yep points I’ve thought about
I’m just about to add digis and acros

 

[jonone]

Chasing numbers. Season 2025, episode 105.

Quoting cliches season 2025 episode 106