How to raise pH without raising alkalinity

lilbitreefer · Oct 9, 2018

Ok, so I run two part at 25mL each daily. My pH ranges around 7.8-8.0 on a 24 hour cycle. I have rarely seen it get to 8.1. I have a refugium running opposite to display lighting. I do have an algae problem that I have been working on as of late. Nitrates are 0 and phosphates are near 0. I am not able to run a hose to fresh air for my protein skimmer and I do not really have a means for making a algae scrubber. I do not have many corals but my clam and a small blue ridge coral. They are not growing much even though they should be growing more than what I am seeing. I am working to keep parameters even after this hurricane but before then I was not seeing any growth. I have a 120g tank. Could I be over dosing? The Alk is around 10-11 now and Ca 420-430.

Js.Aqua.Project · Oct 9, 2018

Is your pH steady?

If it is steady at 7.8-8.0 I wouldn't worry about trying to raise it as corals will do just fine at 7.8.

Also, what time of day do you usually test?

I would recommend testing in the morning right before your lights come on, and again in the evening right as your lights are turning off. This will give you the range your pH is in throughout the day. Think of it like taking a breath in during the day (pH should rise) and out at night (pH should fall).

chipmunkofdoom2 · Oct 10, 2018

The only way to increase pH without increasing alkalinity is to reduce the CO2 dissolved in your tank. You could do this by using a CO2 scrubber or by running an air line outside. You could also install an air exchanger to reduce the overall CO2 level in your home. Aside from that, there's no way to increase pH without increasing alkalinity.

Another option are additives that have a big pH boost when they raise alkalinity. You could use calcium hydroxide or a sodium hydroxide based two-part so that you're increasing your pH more when you increase your alkalinity. But other than that, there's no way aside from reducing CO2 in your tank and/or home.

jdog1989 · Feb 27, 2019

Balance from Aquavitro

JimWelsh · Feb 27, 2019

jdog1989 said:
Balance from Aquavitro

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/s...ect-alkalinity-but-it-raises-alkalini.200026/

Ricky_Reef · Mar 13, 2020

Do Not use PH buffers!!! Get you a Co2 scrubber or run the skimmer line outside if you can.. 7.8 to 8.0 is satisfactory although 8.3 has shown faster growth!

Haim · Mar 13, 2020

Increase the intensity of light.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Mar 15, 2020

lilbitreefer said:
Ok, so I run two part at 25mL each daily. My pH ranges around 7.8-8.0 on a 24 hour cycle. I have rarely seen it get to 8.1. I have a refugium running opposite to display lighting. I do have an algae problem that I have been working on as of late. Nitrates are 0 and phosphates are near 0. I am not able to run a hose to fresh air for my protein skimmer and I do not really have a means for making a algae scrubber. I do not have many corals but my clam and a small blue ridge coral. They are not growing much even though they should be growing more than what I am seeing. I am working to keep parameters even after this hurricane but before then I was not seeing any growth. I have a 120g tank. Could I be over dosing? The Alk is around 10-11 now and Ca 420-430.

As to raising pH and not alk, Removing CO2 is the only way, either by aerating with lower CO2 air, or by consuming it with photosynthetic organisms such as macroalgae or corals, or switching to a high pH alk supplement.

Jaden9933 · Jun 10, 2021

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
As to raising pH and not alk, Removing CO2 is the only way, either by aerating with lower CO2 air, or by consuming it with photosynthetic organisms such as macroalgae or corals, or switching to a high pH alk supplement.

What is a good high ph alk supplement? I’m having problems with extremely high alk when raising the ph

ash9965 · Jun 10, 2021

also remember some salt mixes start you off with fairly high alk ...

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jun 10, 2021

Jaden9933 said:
What is a good high ph alk supplement? I’m having problems with extremely high alk when raising the ph

Highest is sodium hydroxide
next highest is sodium carbonate

thatmanMIKEson · May 29, 2022

Contact with very high concentrations of sodium hydroxide can cause severe burns to the eyes, skin, digestive system or lungs, resulting in permanent damage or death. Prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause dermatitis. Repeated inhalation of sodium hydroxide vapor can lead to permanent lung damage.

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 29, 2022

thatmanMIKEson said:
Contact with very high concentrations of sodium hydroxide can cause severe burns to the eyes, skin, digestive system or lungs, resulting in permanent damage or death. Prolonged or repeated skin contact may cause dermatitis. Repeated inhalation of sodium hydroxide vapor can lead to permanent lung damage.

Are you using sodium hydroxide?

I agree that one needs to be careful with it, like many reef chemicals we use.

thatmanMIKEson · May 29, 2022

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
Are you using sodium hydroxide?

I agree that one needs to be careful with it, like many reef chemicals we use.

No I'm not. I was looking around on Google because I didn't realize what it was. It seems a little more dangerous of the hydroxides, im still looking into calcium hydroxide dosing at night.

I am only worried about when "preparing " it, im worried about contact (without proper training on handling chemicals) every week or so, for potentially years. But with more research and understanding who knows.

I saw the two chemicals listed and got this from Google about the sodium hydroxide because I didn't know what it was.

Sodium Hydroxide

www.tn.gov

Randy Holmes-Farley · May 29, 2022

thatmanMIKEson said:
No I'm not. I was looking around on Google because I didn't realize what it was. It seems a little more dangerous of the hydroxides, im still looking into calcium hydroxide dosing at night.

I am only worried about when "preparing " it, im worried about contact (without proper training on handling chemicals) every week or so, for potentially years. But with more research and understanding who knows.

I saw the two chemicals listed and got this from Google about the sodium hydroxide because I didn't know what it was.

Sodium Hydroxide

www.tn.gov

OK, I do know what exactly it is and have used it hundreds of times. It is basically old fashioned lye (used for drain unclogging). The main concern is to avoid getting it on yourself, especially your eyes. Unless you are doing something strange (like shaking up a fine powder), it is unlikely to get into the air since it does not fume the way muriatic acid can.

I discuss my safety concerns where where I recommend it for a DIY two part that removes the solubility limitations of calcium hydroxide (kalkwasser):

Second New DIY Two Part Recipe with Higher pH Boost

In a previous thread, I posted a true two part DIY recipe: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/new-diy-two-part-recipes-with-higher-ph-boost.344500/ But some folks may want to just swap the new ingredient into my 2/3 part recipe (as used by BRS, for example). Here's the original recipe link...

www.reef2reef.com

Alk part

Add 283 grams of sodium hydroxide to 1 gallon of fresh water. It will get quite warm. Make sure it doesn't soften your container. This solution will contain about 1,900 meq/L of alkalinity (5,300 dKH). BE CAREFUL WITH THIS SOLUTION: IT HAS A pH ABOVE 14. Do not get it in your eyes or on your skin.

Dan_P · May 29, 2022

lilbitreefer said:
Ok, so I run two part at 25mL each daily. My pH ranges around 7.8-8.0 on a 24 hour cycle. I have rarely seen it get to 8.1. I have a refugium running opposite to display lighting. I do have an algae problem that I have been working on as of late. Nitrates are 0 and phosphates are near 0. I am not able to run a hose to fresh air for my protein skimmer and I do not really have a means for making a algae scrubber. I do not have many corals but my clam and a small blue ridge coral. They are not growing much even though they should be growing more than what I am seeing. I am working to keep parameters even after this hurricane but before then I was not seeing any growth. I have a 120g tank. Could I be over dosing? The Alk is around 10-11 now and Ca 420-430.

If your nitrate and phosphate are so low, any algae in the refugium will not be growing very much and therefore not removing much CO2. If the algae were growing well, I would suggest increasing the light level to get it growing even faster.

And an idea just for fun, if you had room and time to spare, maybe a giant algae culture growing like mad could raise the pH.

thatmanMIKEson · May 29, 2022

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
OK, I do know what exactly it is and have used it hundreds of times. It is basically old fashioned lye (used for drain unclogging).

Yeah but your a reef chemist/genius, im just some guy with a fish tank... lol thank you for the information, I will be reading and learning more about this, it is all very interesting to me.

Garf · May 29, 2022

thatmanMIKEson said:
Yeah but your a reef chemist/genius, im just some guy with a fish tank... lol thank you for the information, I will be reading and learning more about this, it is all very interesting to me.

I use it for regenerating the anion portion of DI resin. Just don’t get any of it on anything you care about.