Low ph

[randy4083]

I've been trying to get my ph up around 8 but I can't get it no higher than 7.8 or around that or maybe even a little lower. I have a reef octopus bh90 hob protein skimmer but I do have a sump with a big batch of chaeto and I run my kessil h80 all night and until the lights come on for the tank so I can't do anything else in that regard to try to raise the ph up anymore. But I heard about running an airline outside off of the skimmer but my skimmer has the pump outside of the tank and the air silencer runs from the pump upto the silencer so how can I run an airline to the skimmer since I can't hook into the silencer at the pump because the pump doesn't go into the tank?? Can anyone help me out with this?? I was thinking that maybe I could hook into the air silencer on the 2 connection beside the other air tube?? Here's a picture of what my skimmer looks like for anyone that doesn't know what it looks like.

 

[Dr. Reef Verified Sponsor]

i wouldnt chase pH if its averaging out at 7.8. but if you really want to run air from outside to the skimmer it may help and you can do that with removing the silencer and running the tube straight outside. you wont need the silencer in that setup or you can T off the line and add the outside line to it.

 

[randy4083]

I'm not really chasing but I heard that this will raise it some so I'm gonna give it a try. But I know that you hook into the silencer but most skimmers have a smaller line on the silencer and this has a bigger line that's all. I just didn't know how to hook into the silencer since it's a big line with a big connector that's all

 

[randy4083]

Add o since it has a bigger connector and line than I have to run a t connector to do this right??

 

[randy4083]

Add o since it has a bigger connector and line than I have to run a t connector to do this right??

Opps meant to say since it has a bigger connector and bigger line do I have to use a t connector or how can I hook a line into this skimmer

 

[BedrockIOMC]

Have you check to make sure what your using to check PH isn't messed up or bad? Have you tried a water change?

 

[randy4083]

Yeah it always reads this and for years and I use a red sea test kit that I just bought and it doesn't go out until after 2020 it says so it's brand new but my ph never gets higher than 7.8 at the highest so I'm gonna run an airline off of the skimmer outside somehow connecting it to the silencer

 

[randy4083]

I do waterchanges once a week and it's never went any higher and most people have this same problem with ph in their tank

 

[grassy_noel]

The bigger air line is better. How much air you can pull into the skimmer is a determined by how much resistance there is in the tube. Making the tube smaller diameter increases the resistance, and so does making the tube longer. Since you have no choice but to make the tube longer to run it outside, the bigger diameter it is the better.

You don't need a "T". You just need to get a new section of tube that's the same diameter as the orange tube in your photo and long enough to get outside. Then you need a tube splicer, you can buy one on amazon for less than a dollar. It's a little plastic thing that presses into the existing tube and into your new tube to join them. Take off the silencer (you don't need it anymore), put the splicer into the open end of your orange tube, and then press the other end of the splicer into your new tube. Then run the new tube outside (through a window, or a hole you drilled, or something else). That's it, you're done!

Also, I wouldn't trust a chemical pH test as far as I can throw it. I have the Red Sea test, I'd say my results were "inconclusive" every time I used it. If you really want to measure/chase pH, you should be using a pH probe. Hanna makes some nice one's that are fairly inexpensive. You will also need pH 7 and 10 solutions to calibrate it. You can buy everything I've mentioned at Bulk Reef Supply, Marine Depot, or Amazon.

Best of luck!

 

[lzrlvr]

I use my eyeball monitor for my tank