Low ph in Chicago

[danfee]

I’m really struggling here. Ph is dipping to the 7.7’s. I have a co2 scrubber. I’ve also tried moving the intake for the skimmer to the outside. Nothing is working. I keep alk at 8. Sps are noticeably not doing so good when it dips that low. Dosing brs two part.

Also when ph gets that low the coral are consuming a lot less so my alk is going up because it’s just on a timed schedule.

Should I switch to kalk? But if my alk is fine, does kalk raise ph that much more than soda ash?

Also have a lot of surface agitation? Should I minimize that?

Also if I had something like the trident? And it kept Alk at 8 even when ph gets low, would that fix my sps issues?

 

[blaxsun]

Forest fires maybe having an impact?

 

[Salty_Northerner]

I've been lead to believe that pH will borrow from the alkilinity. So if alkilinity is high and pH is low then the pH should go up. You might have CO2 pooling going on. And keep surface agitation going for gas exchange.

Start watching at the 6:05 minute mark. It might have something you can work with.

 

[Salty_Northerner]

Forest fires maybe having an impact?

Absolutely!

 

[jda]

Your best solution is to get high co2 air out of your home and bring in lower co2 air. This can be hard if there is smoky air all of the time.

I might suggest a $40-50 co2 monitor - amazon has many to choose from. If the co2 is above 700-800, then your tank pH is impact. The higher the indoor co2, the lower the tank pH.

IME, nothing from scrubber to outside skimmer air will make a dent if household co2 is high. You will need kalk, which has setup costs and risks.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

IMO, it is unlikely the fires are raising CO2 locally in Chicago enough to impact pH.

There are a number of ways to raise pH by reducing CO2 in the water, including hhdroxide dosing when you need alk, growing macroalgae, fersh air tot eh room, outside or CO2-scrubbed air to skimmer inlet, etc.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

You might have CO2 pooling going on.

I'm not sure what effect you are suggesting, but CO2 cannot settle in normal air. Pooling of it, and any gas, only happens if there is a point source and the air never gets mixed to begin with. Once mixed, gases do not unmix.

 

[danfee]

Nonono this had nothing to do with the fires This has been going on before that happened. Thanks all for the responses. I guess I’ll get a home co2 monitor. My issue is with the heat in July and the cold in February. It’ll be hard to let the co2 escape during those months the most.

But I like the co2 monitor idea because then I’ll know how long to open the window for.

thanks for the responses again.

 

[jda]

We get cold here in Colorado, of course. I try and wait for a warmer day in the winter, but even a few minutes with the whole house fan running can move enough air to lower the co2 level a LOT. Then, if you wait 15-20 minutes after you close the windows, the rest of the walls, furniture, etc. heat the air back up to nearly where it was before - a lot of the time the furnace does not even need to come on.

Think of it like when somebody in a car rips a nasty fart. You only need to lower the windows for a few seconds to get the air out, not cool down the entire car to where icicles are forming on peoples faces.

Post back what your co2 readings are when you get the meter and also what co2 levels that you see your tank pH start to rise. We are starting to get a handful of numbers to help out others.

 

[danfee]

We get cold here in Colorado, of course. I try and wait for a warmer day in the winter, but even a few minutes with the whole house fan running can move enough air to lower the co2 level a LOT. Then, if you wait 15-20 minutes after you close the windows, the rest of the walls, furniture, etc. heat the air back up to nearly where it was before - a lot of the time the furnace does not even need to come on.

Think of it like when somebody in a car rips a nasty fart. You only need to lower the windows for a few seconds to get the air out, not cool down the entire car to where icicles are forming on peoples faces.

Post back what your co2 readings are when you get the meter and also what co2 levels that you see your tank pH start to rise. We are starting to get a handful of numbers to help out others.

Yes I will. Coming tomorrow. All day today I just dealt with the heat with windows open, but I think the box fan in window by tank and all ceilings fans on really cleared out the house. My ph at 1pm today was much higher than it had been all day yesterday.

 

[danfee]

We get cold here in Colorado, of course. I try and wait for a warmer day in the winter, but even a few minutes with the whole house fan running can move enough air to lower the co2 level a LOT. Then, if you wait 15-20 minutes after you close the windows, the rest of the walls, furniture, etc. heat the air back up to nearly where it was before - a lot of the time the furnace does not even need to come on.

Think of it like when somebody in a car rips a nasty fart. You only need to lower the windows for a few seconds to get the air out, not cool down the entire car to where icicles are forming on peoples faces.

Post back what your co2 readings are when you get the meter and also what co2 levels that you see your tank pH start to rise. We are starting to get a handful of numbers to help out others.

Also informative and hilarious . Thanks for the input

 

[danfee]

Yeah I’m kinda frustrated with all this. Not sure the culprit.

Got the co2 meter. It’s will go up to around 1200 with a/c on. Quickly gets down to around 450 after airing out.

But even just dealing with the heat a couple days with windows open and co2 around 450, ph has been topping off around only 8 still and gets as low as 7.7 (7.6’s on its worst day. But a/c was on that day.).

No clue what to do. I bought an algae scrubber but not sure how much co2 that will consume. But the air was only 450 co2 for 3 days in a row while I dealt with the heat and it didn’t fix my problems.

Also alk has been fine around 8.

 

[jda]

Calibrate that probe. Should be higher with co2 in the 400s.

Glad that you got all of that co2 out anyways.

 

[danfee]

Calibrate that probe. Should be higher with co2 in the 400s.

Glad that you got all of that co2 out anyways.

Guess I will again. Just bought it a month ago though.

Be funny if it was just that. Most coral ok. Just my favorite acro probably not going to make it.

 

[danfee]

The other coral just ok though. Had better days.

 

[danfee]

Yeah I’m kinda frustrated with all this. Not sure the culprit.

Got the co2 meter. It’s will go up to around 1200 with a/c on. Quickly gets down to around 450 after airing out.

But even just dealing with the heat a couple days with windows open and co2 around 450, ph has been topping off around only 8 still and gets as low as 7.7 (7.6’s on its worst day. But a/c was on that day.).

No clue what to do. I bought an algae scrubber but not sure how much co2 that will consume. But the air was only 450 co2 for 3 days in a row while I dealt with the heat and it didn’t fix my problems.

Also alk has been fine around 8.

Wonder how long it takes for co2 to leave water from agitation if house co2 stays around 450?

And we don’t have a way to measure it, correct? That planted aquarium calculation doesn’t work in reef I believe.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Wonder how long it takes for co2 to leave water from agitation if house co2 stays around 450?

And we don’t have a way to measure it, correct? That planted aquarium calculation doesn’t work in reef I believe.

Depends on the water volume and aeration method, but a day or two should be adequate if you have a skimmer.

Measure what. exactly? CO2 in the water? It is easiest to get it from pH and alk. pH exactly moves with CO2 and alk, so it is easy to infer whether you have elevated CO2 in the water or not.

At approximately pH 8.2 and alk of 7 dKH, the water is equilbrated with normal air.