Raising PH

[galantra]

Currently I am trying to increase the PH in my tank. I been working on this slowly but currently hitting a stand still. Currently my daily range is at 7.9. Originally my tank was sitting at 7.7. I have added tubing to pull in outside air into the skimmer equally added a CO2 scrubber into the mix as well as dosing kalkwasser into the tank. This has brought it up to the 7.97 and that the highest I can get it

About the tank: it’s 2 tanks tied into one sump so a 245 & 60 gal into a 45 gallon sump. Tank is located in the basement which is most of my issue mostly SPS dominated tank. So I am dosing tropic marin 3 part


What else can I do to help my situation? I have thought of leaving a window open but it’s winter and will make that area really cold.

Any input is appreciated

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

1. Switch from the TM alk part (bicarbonate) to carbonate, or more pH boost, hydroxide, for the alk supplement.
2. Bring more fresh air into the home. A heat exchanger can help.
3. Put a CO2 scrubber on the outside air.
4. pH >7.8 is fine and don't agonize over it. :)

 

[galantra]

1. Switch from the TM alk part (bicarbonate) to carbonate, or more pH boost, hydroxide, for the alk supplement.
2. Bring more fresh air into the home. A heat exchanger can help.
3. Put a CO2 scrubber on the outside air.
4. pH >7.8 is fine and don't agonize over it. :)

Thanks for the fast reply I am currently doing #3 .
What would be a quality hydroxide supplement I could get? Would this also be an issue with Kalk?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Thanks for the fast reply I am currently doing #3 .
What would be a quality hydroxide supplement I could get? Would this also be an issue with Kalk?

You could use sodium hydroxide, food grade from Amazon, to replace the TM sodium bicarbonate.

DIY Balling Method Recipe

The Balling DIY supplement recipe utilize a 1:1:1 dosing ratio to maintain proper alkalinity. For instance, if you require 50 mL of the alkalinity solution, you should also add 50 mL of Calcium and Balling. Alkalinity (Choose One) : Option 1: Soda Ash Add 375 g soda ash to enough RO/DI to...

www.reef2reef.com

Or you could use kalk in place of all three parts of the TM product.

 

[galantra]

I have added the kalk but I have to dose a lot of even a slight bump. Currently dosing 750ml and still dosing alk to keep it up at 9

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Yes, kalk is necessarily weak. You’d need to add the same number of hydroxide ions to get the same alk and pH boost if switching to sodium hydroxide, but it can be in less water volume added.

 

[slickcdb2000]

Honestly if you’re already pulling outside air to the skimmer, running a CO2 scrubber, and dosing kalk, you’ve already hit most of the big things people usually recommend.

Being in the basement is probably the biggest factor. Basements tend to trap CO2 pretty easily, especially in the winter when the house is closed up. A lot of tanks end up sitting in that 7.8–8.0 range because of that.

One thing you could try is increasing overall gas exchange a bit more — things like pointing a powerhead toward the surface, making sure the overflow is getting good agitation, or even running an airline from outside to an airstone in the sump. Sometimes that can help a little.

Also worth double checking that the CO2 scrubber media isn’t exhausted and that the outside airline run isn’t super long or restricted.

That said, a daily range around 7.9 really isn’t bad, especially if it’s stable. A lot of successful SPS tanks run right around there. Chasing pH too hard can sometimes cause more instability than it’s worth.

 

[galantra]

Yeah I’m not trying to chance number but figured it be worth it more to try and increase it a little bit more

I ordered the change for dosing alk and see what changes it has

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Sounds good,

Good luck!

 

[ChrisfromBrick]

Currently I am trying to increase the PH in my tank. I been working on this slowly but currently hitting a stand still. Currently my daily range is at 7.9. Originally my tank was sitting at 7.7. I have added tubing to pull in outside air into the skimmer equally added a CO2 scrubber into the mix as well as dosing kalkwasser into the tank. This has brought it up to the 7.97 and that the highest I can get it

About the tank: it’s 2 tanks tied into one sump so a 245 & 60 gal into a 45 gallon sump. Tank is located in the basement which is most of my issue mostly SPS dominated tank. So I am dosing tropic marin 3 part


What else can I do to help my situation? I have thought of leaving a window open but it’s winter and will make that area really cold.

Any input is appreciated

co2 scrubber will absolutely bring that ph up. My thought is that you have a large tank and need the very large scrubber. I have a 100g and i get a raise of .3-.4 for the scrubber alone. I am guilty of chasing ph but its just my preference.

If you continue the scrubbing, buy the 5g bucket of jorvet brand soda lime. It’s best bang for your buck.

I don’t recirculate right now because Randy has said he doesn’t think it’s a good idea with regards to O2. But, doing that made my scrubber media last literally 10x longer. I also don’t like the potential for an accident if my skimmer overflows.

So yea, you probably just need the huge co2 scrubber.

 

[Slider162]

I'm in the same boat. Reefer 250 is in the basement. Right now I'm looking at 1550ppm CO2 according to my Apollo Air-1. I have seen higher. I have the BRS basic CO2 scrubber and PH bottomed out overnight at 7.9.

I run 65ml of TM Balling throughout the day and 300ml of Kalk overnight.

I tried recirculating air to the skimmer but there was too much condensation and my home made water trap didn't work. I'm interested in running a line to the outside but that would be a 15' run and I'm concerned about outdoor pollution, fertilizer, etc.

Recently started to look at air exchanges but I'm afraid to get a quote from the electrician. So for now I'm going to open the window.