Low PH in basement and CO2 Scrubber

cyberCoder · Feb 4, 2020

Hi

I know I have CO2 issue in the basement so I have connected an external tube to my skimmer before and the PH is typically at 8.2-8.3 in my basement for the 50 Gallon. However, recently i changed to a much smaller skimmer ( Tunze 9004 ) and the skimmer intake isn't pulling as much air ( that's what I believe ), and the PH is getting close to 8 having risk to lower than 8.

I read about CO2 scrubber, with this small skimmer , i don't think the air intake would really help. What are other options? Just connect the external air tube to a air pump ( drill a hole and put it in? )

But air pump doesn't really suck air from the tube.

Quietman · Feb 4, 2020

I know we like to maximize pH, but 8.0 (even 7.8) isn't bad. Maybe some lower growth rates that are probably not noticeable but still healthy.

Ron Reefman · Feb 4, 2020

Why are you so worried about the pH? At 8.0 you are fine... probably higher than average. I quite chasing pH a long time ago. When I did test for it the common result was between 7.7 and 7.9. And my tank grows just fine!

Bxr126 · Feb 4, 2020

I was going through similar situation. About 7 months ago I moved, and when I did I was forced to put my tank in the basement. Previously PH was around 8.3 and most of my corals were growing like weeds. After the move I was struggling to get 7.9. The stress of the move and the resultant instability killed off some corals and up until recently everything in the tank looked like it was just hanging on. I tried Kalk. Not for me. Too messy and too much of a PITA to mix right. You could try a Kalk reactor. They seem to work for some. For me what worked was increasing the size of my skimmer combined with the CO2 scrubber. I will not argue with more experienced reefers on the value of higher PH. My corals were indeed surviving. However, now that I have my PH between 8.2 and 8.3 they are thriving. That is my personal experience.

Ron Reefman · Feb 4, 2020

If you haven't read this, it may help.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/

Dr. Dendrostein · Feb 4, 2020

Ron Reefman said:
Why are you so worried about the pH? At 8.0 you are fine... probably higher than average. I quite chasing pH a long time ago. When I did test for it the common result was between 7.7 and 7.9. And my tank grows just fine!

Average ocean PH is 8.1.

Ron Reefman · Feb 4, 2020

Dr. Dendrostein said:
Average ocean PH is 8.1.

Yes, what I meant was higher than the average of most reef tanks.

Dr. Dendrostein · Feb 4, 2020

Ron Reefman said:
Yes, what I meant was higher than the average of most reef tanks.

I see, says the blind man

cyberCoder · Feb 4, 2020

Thanks to all. Perhaps that's the learning part of being a new reefer that wants "all" parameters matching "the book". I have been shooting for 8.2 and I also read having that "buffer" helps at times.

In summary, I really haven't tried keeping the reef at 8 or 7.9 .

The other reason is that recently, I started adding SPS and I bought two from a local hobbyist. I must say seeing them got happy in the tank and open up with those tiny fluffy things make it all worth it. So I am already worrying about the 8.2 drop to 8 and what it would do to them since they are quite new in my tank.

And I am leaving town for 4 days in a few days. What a newbie knows, making all the changes at this time!

I find all your responses informative and I also like Bxr126 response, as that also represented some of my concerns being a reef keeper that needs basement .

cyberCoder · Feb 4, 2020

Ron Reefman said:
If you haven't read this, it may help.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/

I read this before when I added the tube , and I was working with my dad on it since he likes "projects". He made a comment about how hobbyist can get so many things work to get the corals and fishes happy....... I am going to read the article again as I seem to have some more experience now.

X-37B · Feb 4, 2020

Mine 7.9-8.1= night/day.
I check it once a month if I remember.
So many posts with people chasing numbers.
I saw one where somone was worried that the ph of his carx was running 6.78 and it went up to 6.79 and he was blaming his alk levels on a .01 variance.
Your ph is fine and its "stability" day in and day out we are after.

Quietman · Feb 4, 2020

Chasing pH is a losing battle really. If you have 7.8 to 8.0 and stable your corals will adjust and be fine. Stable doesn't mean unchanging, that's a frequent misunderstanding - stable for reefing means consistent for specific parameters. For pH, that means consistent daily swings within a known range for your tank. The ocean reef is stable, but it also has daily and seasonal swings in pH and temp. There's a school of thought, that I agree with, that this is actually beneficial to corals as it makes them resilient to the out of normal fluctuations that can occur.

My tank runs 7.9 in summer and 8.3 in winter (not exactly sure why, it's interesting but I'm not doing anything to compensate). I am very leery of artificially raising pH or trying to keep it at one particular level as it adds potential issues due to failures that didn't exist before. Plus I feel my corals are healthier and more resistent to failures acclimating to periodic changes even though this may mean a small percentage loss of growth.

Bxr126 · Feb 4, 2020

I often hear the term chasing numbers and would never suggest that. As an engineer I have to redefine the phrase in my own mind. I look at it more as optimizing the tank performance based on my personal goals.