Raising Ph

[CTHURLOW28]

New member here. I have 2 tanks. One with a lid and one without. Both have ph at 7.7. I have bubblers in the tanks and sumps, wave makers with good surface flow. alk is 9.5 and calcium 450. im considering a co2 skrubber and maybe snake plants next to the tanks to get the ph up to 8 for growth. any ideas?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Welcome to your new home for saltwater reef aquarium resources and fun! Welcome to the family! :D

 

[Kristopher Conlin]

Welcome to Reef2Reef!!!

If you can find a way to implement kalkwasser into your dosing it helps immensely with pH. A co2 scrubber isn't a bad option either however the media gets expensive over time.

 

[PharmrJohn]

You can always hook up an outside air line to your skimmer. That'll help.

 

[FUNGI]

Plants won't help much (if at all).....line to outside air helps alot.....
I have outside air line > to CO2 Scrubber> Skimmer
going to add recirculating line this weekend.....
PH is 8.1 daytime ~ 7.98 eve.....I think thats the best I will get so not going to chase it anymore.....

 

[Rolliad]

All of the above. I've also found that making sure I don't have low mag has helped too.

I'd do it is this order:
Mag levels in line
Outside air to skimmer if able
Kalk
CO2 Scrubber (look up FishofHex)

Edit: Also, making sure that my phosphate is in line has helped a lot. Probably very indirectly, but thought I'd throw it in there.

Edit 2: Doing this has helped me get my pH to a pretty rock solid 8.3 - 8.5 range. Prior to that I was scraping along at 7.6.

 

[Jamie814]

Welcome!
I would suggest getting rid of the dog they produce a lot of CO2 and other gases that are not so good for reef aquariums! :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: JK

Best to raise pH is, fresh air from outside, dosing kalkwasser at night and high pH alk 2 part if dosing 2 part for ALK/CA.

Co2 scrubber's can help but can also get expensive to operate.

 

[Rolliad]

Welcome!
I would suggest getting rid of the dog they produce a lot of CO2 and other gases that are not so good for reef aquariums! :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes: JK

I can def confirm that my dogs release gasses that aren't good for reef aquariums...or humans! HAH!

 

[FUNGI]

Is the Dinosaur skull plastic?

 

[Rolliad]

Co2 scrubber's can help but can also get expensive to operate.

This is why I only operate mine in the winter and I buy bulk Soda Lime to use in it. Otherwise, the windows are open as much as humanly possible.

 

[Cycleguy0623]

I had the same issue and ran a line out side from my skimmer. It worked spindly and let me stop paying for co2 media.

 

[FUNGI]

This is why I only operate mine in the winter and I buy bulk Soda Lime to use in it. Otherwise, the windows are open as much as humanly possible.

You can't drill a hole thru the wall top outside? or run the line thru the attic/subfloor?

 

[vetteguy53081]

 

[vetteguy53081]

New member here. I have 2 tanks. One with a lid and one without. Both have ph at 7.7. I have bubblers in the tanks and sumps, wave makers with good surface flow. alk is 9.5 and calcium 450. im considering a co2 skrubber and maybe snake plants next to the tanks to get the ph up to 8 for growth. any ideas?

Plants wont help but you can try small increments of baking soda or Co2 scrubber

 

[Rolliad]

You can't drill a hole thru the wall top outside? or run the line thru the attic/subfloor?

If I owned the place, yes. I'm in an apartment in Chicago though so, I can't.

 

[Gman83]

Welcome!

 

[Uncle99]

Welcome to R2R!

Maybe it’s already 8.
Maybe the test is not discerning enough.

Be cautious of hobby grade test results and reacting to that result exclusively.

Most PH kits are not fine enough for our purposes and we can spend time fixing something that rarely broken.

Probes good for awhile but then they need calibration.

PH is fine in most normal settings unless your mainly sticks, then kalk is great.

 

[zheka757]

Welcome to R2R!
here is my opinion on higher ph lvl! in past year i have tried to raise ph with chemicals. and even that i did witness some coral growth increase. i also noticed alot of unexplained coral death during this time period. here is my lesson. should of left everything as is with just calcium reactor. and my ph was 7.7-8.2. With chemicals (sodium hydroxide) I was getting 8.1-8.5

 

[FrugalReeferJon]

 

[1112-425XL]

Ceiling fan helps keep my PH up.