Damp Rid to solve room excess co2?

[MnFish1]

If you're doing some kind of experiment - before you decide you need to reduce room Co2 - it might be helpful for you to measure your room CO2 (meters are available for rent, etc - and you can also use various calculators.

 

[GARRIGA]

Are you dosing nitrate at all?

If you don’t have any calcifying organisms, it makes sense as to why calcification isn’t happening. Have you added coralline algae to your tank via live rocks etc?

Added coralline via rock and bottle. Bottle was useless. Rock lasted a few months but never spread then started dying off.

No need to add nitrates. I overfeed daily. Plus haven’t carbon doses since February trying to establish the Fuge.

At this point. Need to solve the current issue. Go buy Pom Pom. Try that yo solve pH.

 

[Miami Reef]

I brought up the dosing nitrates because if you are adding nitrates by feeding/dosing ammonia, then you aren’t adding any alkalinity whatsoever. Ammonia > ammonium removes alkalinity, but the nitrate consumed will add that exact amount back.

Since you are getting 0 calcifying growth, it’s pointless to even consider adding pH raising additives. You aren’t adding alkalinity by “carbon dosing”

The only solutions for you is to first double check that your readings are even accurate. Then reduce CO2 in home, add more photosynthetic organisms to absorb the excess CO2 in the tank etc.

 

[GARRIGA]

I brought up the dosing nitrates because if you are adding nitrates by feeding/dosing ammonia, then you aren’t adding any alkalinity whatsoever. Ammonia > ammonium removes alkalinity, but the nitrate consumed will add that exact amount back.

Since you are getting 0 calcifying growth, it’s pointless to even consider adding pH raising additives. You aren’t adding alkalinity by “carbon dosing”

The only solutions for you is to first double check that your readings are even accurate. Then reduce CO2 in home, add more photosynthetic organisms to absorb the excess CO2 in the tank etc.

We’re both saying the same thing except I’m not focused on adding alkalinity. Only mentioned that gets added in excess if I use additives to raise pH.

The purpose of this post is removing room co2 and I was already in the process of adding more photosynthetic organisms via trying to establish a Fuge. Unfortunately, latter exposed issues I didn’t know I had and now solving.

Corals not in my current plans. That comes later with the main build. Growing coralline however just something I seek aesthetically and would now allow dosing of kalk.

Since I don’t do WCs then sodium chloride based solutions not practical but kalk is although AFR my primary solution. Once I establish coralline. Until then it’s getting a Fuge going to stabilize pH at desired level and keep nitrates and phosphates where needed to get that going.

Solving room co2 more like a nice to have for now. Why I was hoping this might solve it. ERV not financially plausible although I’m confident the Fuge will resolve it based on past experiences.

Now I’ll focus on solving cyano and dino. Lucky me

 

[Miami Reef]

We’re both saying the same thing except I’m not focused on adding alkalinity.

I agree. I only brought up alkalinity because it’s a great way to boost pH if you have a decent demand for it.

 

[GARRIGA]

I agree. I only brought up alkalinity because it’s a great way to boost pH if you have a decent demand for it.

It is but brings its own problems. Ion imbalance unless trace and magnesium proportionally added. Although enough WCs will solve that which I’m purposely avoiding. Fuge or ERV remain my only solutions in the foreseeable future.

 

[Miami Reef]

It is but brings its own problems. Ion imbalance unless trace and magnesium proportionally added. Although enough WCs will solve that which I’m purposely avoiding. Fuge or ERV remain my only solutions in the foreseeable future.

Kalkwasser has no ionic imbalance, and it has the highest pH possible. But you need an alk demand to use it.

What pH test do you use? Have you ever calibrated it?

 

[Garf]

That’s the point I’ve been making and why my fight is with my room air and hoping to solve that without opening windows, or plants or an ERV.

Pulling or pushing room air through a scrubber into the tank water could still increase pH. I expect your tank is forming it’s own CO2 from the overfeeding not just drawing it in through the room air. I’m not seeing why you think this is any different from most tanks that run a scrubber. CO2 scrubbers just treat the room air that’s injected into the water, you don’t even need a skimmer. A needle wheel skimmer pump is one way to draw air through it or even perhaps push air through CO2 absorbing material to an air stone. I would experiment with it.

 

[GARRIGA]

Kalkwasser has no ionic imbalance, and it has the highest pH possible. But you need an alk demand to use it.

What pH test do you use? Have you ever calibrated it?

What I mean by ion imbalance being that when you add an additive that raises alkalinity and calcium then you also need to add magnesium and other trace to replicate natural seawater. Sodium chloride additives being the worse when not performing a WC because they increase your salt content without replicating NSW and why the Balling Method was created. Portion of what is added brings the ions into proportion with the salinity increase.

In other words, Kalk lacks magnesium along with other minor and trace elements. Great solution for increasing ph but not a complete solution.

 

[GARRIGA]

Pulling or pushing room air through a scrubber into the tank water could still increase pH. I expect your tank is forming it’s own CO2 from the overfeeding not just drawing it in through the room air. I’m not seeing why you think this is any different from most tanks that run a scrubber. CO2 scrubbers just treat the room air that’s injected into the water, you don’t even need a skimmer. A needle wheel skimmer pump is one way to draw air through it or even perhaps push air through CO2 absorbing material to an air stone. I would experiment with it.

Refer to Randy's response that confirms what I'm saying about room co2 being the main issue. Plus I don't use a skimmer therefore that can not be causing my issue. My ph rises when there are less inhabitants. Why I know there's excess co2 and in those instance after a few days my ph goes from 7.6 to 8.1. Ph probe is calibrated.

Scrubbing co2 entering the skimmer only eliminates that being drawn by the skimmer. It will do nothing to solve the surface interface with room co2 where room co2 is in high concentrations. Byproduct of having an airtight house in a sub tropical environment where opening windows not a feasible option for solving my problem.

Adding more food does create more co2 because it increases co2 via nitrification yet that equalizes with room co2. In a low co2 environment, that excess co2 will get gassed off and equalize to room co2. Randy taught me this. Those with lower room co2 will have different results than those with my situation.