Chasing Ph

[((FORDTECH))]

Ooofff that set you back. This hobby is for real expensive.
Why two? Do you use both at the same time?


How are you using these?


I thought you had it set up? Did you take it down for maintenance?

I would love to see pics if you are willing to post them. I think your solution is super kewl.

Sorry for the mess need to straighten up all the wires and stuff but you will get the just. First pic shows both duel co2 scrubbers with blue tops. Second pic shows the 2 valves for the right side scrubber. With one normal open valve and 1 normally closed valve I use my apex 24volt port to control the valves. When ph goes down and hits 8.25 apex opens valve to allow air threw co2 scrubber and then thru outside air line. When ph gets to 8.3 valves Deenergize and then no air thru co2 media to conserve it and only air is directed thru the outside air line. My skimmer has 2 large pumps that run it this is why 2 co2 scrubbers 1 for each pump because each pump has its own air line. And both sides work exactly the same. In last pic you can see the media starting to turn purple after about a week as you can see in my graph I first sent . Any other questions let me know.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Ooofff that set you back. This hobby is for real expensive.
Why two? Do you use both at the same time?


How are you using these?


I thought you had it set up? Did you take it down for maintenance?

I would love to see pics if you are willing to post them. I think your solution is super kewl.

Sorry one last pic of my skimmer so you can see where 1/2 John guest line come off of you can see 2 lines one from each pump

 

[HuduVudu]

Sorry for the mess need to straighten up all the wires and stuff but you will get the just. First pic shows both duel co2 scrubbers with blue tops. Second pic shows the 2 valves for the right side scrubber. With one normal open valve and 1 normally closed valve I use my apex 24volt port to control the valves. When ph goes down and hits 8.25 apex opens valve to allow air threw co2 scrubber and then thru outside air line. When ph gets to 8.3 valves Deenergize and then no air thru co2 media to conserve it and only air is directed thru the outside air line. My skimmer has 2 large pumps that run it this is why 2 co2 scrubbers 1 for each pump because each pump has its own air line. And both sides work exactly the same. In last pic you can see the media starting to turn purple after about a week as you can see in my graph I first sent . Any other questions let me know.

Nice. It is kewl how you automated it, that was smart. It is crazy that you only get about a week from it. Good thing the media isn't super expensive.

Thank you for sharing what you have done. I appreciate it.

 

[HuduVudu]

I want to tag in @Randy Holmes-Farley. He wanted to see if someone would test by chasing PH. I think this qualifies as that.

 

[oscar14]

I want to tag in @Randy Holmes-Farley. He wanted to see if someone would test by chasing PH. I think this qualifies as that.

That would be interesting

 

[EMeyer]

I had low pH problems in my nano--7.6-7.8 (lots of CO2 in my apartment--around 1200pppm). I did three things to fix it:

1) basic CO2 scrubber, which raised to 7.7-7.9
2) Raised alkalinity from 8.5 to 10dKH, which boosted pH to 8.2
3) Started using kalk in my ATO, which brought me to 8.3 consistently

You've exchanged a normal pH and slightly elevated alkalinity for an unnaturally high alkalinity and pH. I cant imagine why that was desirable, but hope your corals do well!

In my experience anything over 8 DKH is bad for corals of all kinds, and since coral reefs naturally experience pHs like you describe every night, I wouldnt have made the change myself. Hope it goes well for your tank.

 

[EMeyer]

Coral reefs don't have a pH of 8.2 or 8.3. See the colored lines in the left hand panel.

They range from 7.8 to 7.9 at night, to a little over 8 during the day. Daily fluctuations in pH are normal, not a bug to be fixed.

 

[ajjw0828]

Sorry one last pic of my skimmer so you can see where 1/2 John guest line come off of you can see 2 lines one from each pump

I have a similar setup but I wonder if I don’t have enough flow from outside. May end up doing something similar. Love how you have it plumbed. Where do you buy your media from?

 

[Timfish]

I would put more emphasis on alkalinity first then calcium and magnesium. For pH you want to watch long term trends, not daily fluctuations. The pH of the water does not directly correlate to the pH of the surface or mucus boundary layer around corals and corals can maintain pH homeostsis in the calcifying fluid around thier skeletons even with what we would consider unacceptable pH in the water around them.

http://www.academia.edu/1161714/Aragonite_Saturation_State_and_Seawater_PH_Do_Not_Predict_Rates_of_Calcification_in_a_Reef-building_Coral

Corals concentrate dissolved inorganic carbon to facilitate calcification - Nature Communications

Understanding how corals may react to ocean acidification is hampered due to a lack of insight into how corals source the inorganic carbon required to build their skeletons. Here, the authors show that corals are able to concentrate dissolved carbon and that bicarbonate contributes to the carbon...

www.nature.com

http://www.pnas.org/content/112/43/13219.full.pdf

Frontiers | Flow and Coral Morphology Control Coral Surface pH: Implications for the Effects of Ocean Acidification

The future impact of ocean acidification (OA) on corals is disputed in part because mathematical models used to predict these impacts do not seem to capture,...

www.frontiersin.org

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Nice. It is kewl how you automated it, that was smart. It is crazy that you only get about a week from it. Good thing the media isn't super expensive.

Thank you for sharing what you have done. I appreciate it.

After the week the media is not done I was just pointing out the first canister of the two is starting to turn Purple I’d say media is about 25% exhausted after the week so maybe 3-4 weeks it should last.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

I have a similar setup but I wonder if I don’t have enough flow from outside. May end up doing something similar. Love how you have it plumbed. Where do you buy your media from?

If you notice in one of the pics I sent above how I went outside with pvc. Due to fact I used 1 1/2 pipe I felt to drill hole in brick was to evasive so decided better option was to remove glass from basement window replace it with plexi glass and drill hole thru that and use bulkhead. Works great and no hole in side of house. Went and if I’m ever done with this hobby I remove plexi panel and silicone glass back in. Like it never happen

 

[HuduVudu]

If you notice in one of the pics I sent above how I went outside with pvc. Due to fact I used 1 1/2 pipe I felt to drill hole in brick was to evasive so decided better option was to remove glass from basement window replace it with plexi glass and drill hole thru that and use bulkhead. Works great and no hole in side of house. Went and if I’m ever done with this hobby I remove plexi panel and silicone glass back in. Like it never happen

Hey just FYI you can drill glass very easily now using the diamond blade, and they are very cheap. Depending on the 'plexi' that you used you might have yellowing and cracking over time. Just adding one more project to your list.

 

[Jonify]

In my experience anything over 8 DKH is bad for corals of all kinds, and since coral reefs naturally experience pHs like you describe every night, I wouldnt have made the change myself. Hope it goes well for your tank.

Closed-loop reef tanks are not natural by definition ... we make a lot of adjustments to "natural sea water" conditions to achieve the outcomes we're looking for ... including more colorful coral, faster growth, less algae, etc. 7-12 is an acceptable alkalinity range, and pH as high as 8.5 is something some reefers strive for to speed growth, with success, such as ReefBuilder's tanks. It really depends on the reefer's goals and intended outcomes. This is a topic debated often though, so this convo won't be going away any time soon.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Hey just FYI you can drill glass very easily now using the diamond blade, and they are very cheap. Depending on the 'plexi' that you used you might have yellowing and cracking over time. Just adding one more project to your list.

Yes I have drilled many fishtanks the issue was when the wife walks past the window with the lawnmower if she catches it I didn’t want the window to shatter.or a flex Of the pipe from the inside could tweak the glass Haha You will find out one day it’s never about cost in this hobby it’s enjoyment and I would not enjoy her breaking the glass window

 

[HuduVudu]

Yes I have drilled many fishtanks the issue was when the wife walks past the window with the lawnmower if she catches it I didn’t want the window to shatter.or a flex Of the pipe from the inside could tweak the glass Haha You will find out one day it’s never about cost in this hobby it’s enjoyment and I would not enjoy her breaking the glass window

Everyone has a different set of parameters that they are working from

 

[oscar14]

Hey guys, decided to leave all windows open last night and woke up to terrible air quality. There’s a lot of ash coming down here in the bay are from all these fires. Ph went down as 7.6 that’s the lowest it’s ever been, do you guys think it was Cz of the air quality? I’m planning to make a diy chaeto reactor and run it at night. I will also add a skimmer and connect it to a CO2 scrubber. Any suggestiona for a Nuvo10? I will stay with normal 2part dosin

 

[walloutlet]

I had low pH problems in my nano--7.6-7.8 (lots of CO2 in my apartment--around 1200pppm). I did three things to fix it:

1) basic CO2 scrubber, which raised to 7.7-7.9
2) Raised alkalinity from 8.5 to 10dKH, which boosted pH to 8.2
3) Started using kalk in my ATO, which brought me to 8.3 consistently

This is exactly what I did and almost saw the same results... I actually had to put a solenoid on the CO2 scrubbed line to inject room air into it or it would creep into the 8.5 range. Now my Hanna, APEX and Seneye are all within +/-0.05 of each other.

I should mention there is Cheato in my fuge running a night time schedule to help with CO2 consumption, I don't know if that helps balance anything as the CO2 scrubber seems to really do the trick.

 

[Jonify]

"do you guys think it was Cz of the air quality?"

Possible. Being near anything that is burning will result in much higher CO2 (such as the CA fires you mention). It's why in a tightly sealed house, if you run the stove for any amount of time (and your alkalinity is average/or below ~8 dKH), you'll notice the pH drops in your tank shortly after ... it's because your CO2 has shot up. I have a CO2 meter, and if the windows are OPEN, CO2 in my apartment is around 450-500ppm (~8.2 pH if your tank water is at equilibrium with the surrounding air). If they're closed and I turn on the stove, it jumps to about 1400ppm (~7.6 pH if your tank water is at equilibrium with the surrounding air). Even if I'm running the stove just long enough to heat a pot of tea, my CO2 levels jump 200-300ppm.

Running a CO2 scrubber will help mitigate these effects.

 

[((FORDTECH))]

Hey guys, decided to leave all windows open last night and woke up to terrible air quality. There’s a lot of ash coming down here in the bay are from all these fires. Ph went down as 7.6 that’s the lowest it’s ever been, do you guys think it was Cz of the air quality? I’m planning to make a diy chaeto reactor and run it at night. I will also add a skimmer and connect it to a CO2 scrubber. Any suggestiona for a Nuvo10? I will stay with normal 2part dosin

I wanted to add this picture for you guys to look at . It shows my ph and then compairs it to the on and off of my scrubber. It makes me happy to see how long it takes ph to drop while solenoids are closed saving my co2 media.