? About a refugium
- Thread starter Xbreakxitxdownx
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OP
OP
Xbreakxitxdownx
Active Member
That's what u thought but all my LFS say you need to keep the ph at 8.30
OP
OP
Xbreakxitxdownx
Active Member
I thought that too.
OP
OP
Xbreakxitxdownx
Active Member
Would any led work for my cheto?
Bluelobstor
Active Member
macros honestly do better with daylight bulbs. As for the ph is there a lid on top of tank and is the surface of water being agitated. A lot of times if ph drops rapidly after adding buffer then CO2 build up can be a problem. How low does ph go and is it mostly at night or during day as well
tyler1503
2500 Club Member
+1. Most people don't seem to worry about testing Ph at all. I haven't in 3 years, but in saying that I only test every 6 months or so lol.
OP
OP
Xbreakxitxdownx
Active Member
My ph goes as low as 7.89 and the highest during the day is 8.13. What kind of light? Can you post a pic of the bulb I need if I don't need led I rather go with something my chato will love.
OP
OP
Xbreakxitxdownx
Active Member
There is a canopy over my tank and the top of the water is being agitated by my return pump.
Bluelobstor
Active Member
What size fuge do you have. A 6500k works best imo. Spiral power compacts from WalMart are good for that. If you want the best growth then a 70w metal halide would be good or t5. I bet the 7.89 is at night and is normal but lighting a fuge at night will help. Do you have a frag tank connected if so you could run that on a rdp as well.
joesreef
New Member
I have a 40 gallon breeder as my sump with no room for a fuge in it,but theres room under my stand for another 30 gallon tank i could use as a fuge,whats the best way to get the water from sump to fuge and back in your experience?
Coraloliseffect
Active Member
i wouldn't chase or worry about ph level, as long as with in acceptable limits. (as i remember 7.7 - 8.4 , would need to check with a book)
would worry most about swings. Hence your fuge. your trying to balance orgnasims perspiring and respiring, adding o2 and removing co2. both causes swings in ph. less co2 ph goes up.
the main time i check is when adding new orginisms. the more difference in ph the longer i acclimate.
typically ph is lowest before lights (less o2) on and highest at lights off (less c02).
since your trying to normalize the ph and the fuge is usally much smaller, hence doesnt have the same effect in swing as the main tank. For best normalization you dont want cycles to be exactly opposite. In my setup after watching the ph through day cycle i get the best normalization by
Lights out on display 10:00 pm (orginams in display are starting to switch from respiration to perspiration. but not perspiring yet) (my tank operates on the high side so bringing ph down if ph is on the low side,)
light on refuguium 12:30 AM ( this lets the peak go down and then normalizes - so the display is pushing ph down and refuguium is switching to respiration)
by 1:33 Am there is a definatly flatining of ph by the fuge. (but ph still droping as the display is so much larger)
lights on the display start coming on 11:00 am. (organisms in display are still perspiringstarting to switch to respiration fuge is still on to normalize and respiring)
fuge turns of 12:30 pm (display is in full respiration fuge begins to switch to perspriation.)
My example is not exact but illustrates how the cycle works and the difference in sizes needs difference in timing.
(I was able to cheat and come up with this from a controller, which samples the ph every 5 min and records. )
would worry most about swings. Hence your fuge. your trying to balance orgnasims perspiring and respiring, adding o2 and removing co2. both causes swings in ph. less co2 ph goes up.
the main time i check is when adding new orginisms. the more difference in ph the longer i acclimate.
typically ph is lowest before lights (less o2) on and highest at lights off (less c02).
since your trying to normalize the ph and the fuge is usally much smaller, hence doesnt have the same effect in swing as the main tank. For best normalization you dont want cycles to be exactly opposite. In my setup after watching the ph through day cycle i get the best normalization by
Lights out on display 10:00 pm (orginams in display are starting to switch from respiration to perspiration. but not perspiring yet) (my tank operates on the high side so bringing ph down if ph is on the low side,)
light on refuguium 12:30 AM ( this lets the peak go down and then normalizes - so the display is pushing ph down and refuguium is switching to respiration)
by 1:33 Am there is a definatly flatining of ph by the fuge. (but ph still droping as the display is so much larger)
lights on the display start coming on 11:00 am. (organisms in display are still perspiringstarting to switch to respiration fuge is still on to normalize and respiring)
fuge turns of 12:30 pm (display is in full respiration fuge begins to switch to perspriation.)
My example is not exact but illustrates how the cycle works and the difference in sizes needs difference in timing.
(I was able to cheat and come up with this from a controller, which samples the ph every 5 min and records. )
Last edited:
Bluelobstor
Active Member
You are limited to what u can do. You can't pump water to fuge and then pump back to sump as they will never pump at the same rate. You basically have three options. 1. Run fuge and sump separate, 2. Have fuge overflow into sump, or 3. Have fuge overflow into tank. Option 3 is best imo if you have way of mounting the fuge above the tank.
OP
OP
Xbreakxitxdownx
Active Member
I don't have a frag tanks my sump is 30gal. I am running 6500k LEDs at night.
Bluelobstor
Active Member
Sounds good
Randy Holmes-Farley
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They are wrong. Don't take important advice from them.
Many corals may grow faster at pH 8.3 than at lower pH values, but don't agonize over pH unless it drops below 7.8, unless growth optimization is an important goal.
Never use buffers to raise pH. The effect is always temporary, as you saw, and alkalinity can get excessively high.
If you really need to raise pH, the best options are limewater (kalkwasser) in your top off, more fresh air in your home or to a skimmer inlet, a CO2 scrubber on a skimmer inlet, or a reverse light cycle refugium. I use several of these.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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Your fish are perspiring? :lol:
Maybe your spell checker didn't like your spelling of photosynthesizing.
Randy Holmes-Farley
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How are you lighting it?
Cyano on macroalgae can be a concern. Washing it off once in a while is desirable.
Would increasing air flow within the sump area help? Like adding a small fan to circulate?
