Chasing Ph

oscar14 · Sep 10, 2020

Hey there, I have a Nuvo 10. It’s been up for 4 months now parameters are in check. My only issue is my Ph. I’m trying to reach that 8.3 or close enough. I’ve had windows opened constantly, but Ph maxes out at 8.0 The main issue is that Ph goes down to 7.7 at night. I’ve added an air stone to the back of my overflow simply to help raise it. It has helped but I want to take a step further. My ALK is at 8.3 and right now my consumption is about .2 I have zoas, LPS and I’m getting into SPS. I have montiporas, stylophoras and birds nest. They are growing, but I would like to achieve better growth and get into Acropora a as well. I want to raise and maintain a stable Ph as most as possible. I was thinking about dosing Kalkwasser but I’m not sure how much to dose throughout the day. Feel free to thrown me any suggestions.

oscar14 · Sep 10, 2020

Also, will 2-part dosing have the same boost in Ph? I was thinking about B-Ionic

lavoisier · Sep 10, 2020

Kalkwasser is a good relatively simple choice. 92 part won't particularly help with Ph). If you have a skimmer, a CO2 scrubber is helpful for keeping Ph up.

oscar14 · Sep 10, 2020

I was also thinking about a CO2 scrubber but don’t have a skimmer. This is only a 10g reef tank so I have limited space. IS there any way to have a CO2 scrubber without a skimmer?

infinite0180 · Sep 10, 2020

I agree, 2 part really doesn't help boost pH much... Ive never tried kalk but hear it works decently at boosting pH

Dr. Jim · Sep 10, 2020

I bet by adding a skimmer your pH will go up....maybe a small hang-on-the-back skimmer, (although I've never used one of this type).

I had to remove my skimmer for a while. I aerated the water with an air pump in an attempt to raise the pH but it wasn't until I got my skimmer working again that the pH raised to where I want it (8.2-8.4). Also, when I ran a pvc pipe to an outside window and connected that to my skimmer, I saw a dramatic increase. With this setup, I don't need a scrubber.

oscar14 · Sep 10, 2020

Any suggestions for a skimmer. I only have a 10g Nuvo?

Dr. Jim said:
I bet by adding a skimmer your pH will go up....maybe a small hang-on-the-back skimmer, (although I've never used one of this type).

I had to remove my skimmer for a while. I aerated the water with an air pump in an attempt to raise the pH but it wasn't until I got my skimmer working again that the pH raised to where I want it (8.2-8.4). Also, when I ran a pvc pipe to an outside window and connected that to my skimmer, I saw a dramatic increase. With this setup, I don't need a scrubber.

rmurken · Sep 10, 2020

You could also do both kalk and a skimmer, depending on how much you want to spend. 8.0 to 8.3 is a fair amount of pH ground to cover. If you had to choose one, I’d go with the skimmer because it has export benefits and there are other ways to supplement

For kalk in a tank that size you’d want to make sure you had a well-controlled dosing method to reduce the chance of a problematic overdose. You could manage that with a dosing pump and a reservoir, or if you wanted to spend more and go fancier, a kalk stirrer.

Also, the sodium carbonate (baked baking soda) version of Randy’s DIY two-part does have a pH effect, but not as much as kalk. I’m certain some commercial two-parts are similar.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Sep 11, 2020

FWIW, a skimmer using indoor air can lower pH.

oscar14 · Sep 11, 2020

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
FWIW, a skimmer using indoor air can lower pH.

What about when using with a CO2 scrubber?

cmoore806 · Sep 11, 2020

in a similar situation with a 13.5 Fluval AIO. I started dosing alkalinity, added air stone to a sump chamber, windows opened. my threee kids are in my basement sucking oxygen and making CO2 since they're remote learning. I am also combating a minor ugly phase since I am only on day 157 of my tank. I figure I will ride out the next few months to see how the pH adjusts.

Without a sump the most I will do is add kalkwasser to my ATO. Overall the plan is to go bigger in the next few years if I can save the money to do so. with a bigger tank there's more room for the dosing pumps, skimmer in the sump hidden below the tank.