Lowering PH without changing other levels

[Dsnyguy75]

Okay, so here's my issue.

pH: 7.8
ammonia: 0.0
nitrate: 0.0
nitrite: 0.0
Ca: 500ppm
dKh: 12
Mg: 1600

I'm trying to raise my ph to the 8.0-8.2 level that is recommending for coral sustainment. My ph was hovering around 7.5 and I recently went to a LFS I trust. He recommending using an alkalinity solution (AuqaVitro Eight Four) to increase the pH. He warned me it would increase the Ca and dKh as well. How do I increase the pH without these levels getting too far out of wack the other direction?

 

[Velcro]

The ONLY way to raise pH without raising alkalinity is to reduce the amount of dissolved CO2 in the water. This can be done by opening windows in the house, running the skimmer intake to the outdoors or adding a co2 scrubber.

 

[Velcro]

Okay, so here's my issue.

pH: 7.8
ammonia: 0.0
nitrate: 0.0
nitrite: 0.0
Ca: 500ppm
dKh: 12
Mg: 1600

I'm trying to raise my ph to the 8.0-8.2 level that is recommending for coral sustainment. My ph was hovering around 7.5 and I recently went to a LFS I trust. He recommending using an alkalinity solution (AuqaVitro Eight Four) to increase the pH. He warned me it would increase the Ca and dKh as well. How do I increase the pH without these levels getting too far out of wack the other direction?

Also, you can trust them a little less... there is no calcium in that product.

 

[lilchris_357]

Can you open a window to allow fresh air into the house? You can also run an airline from your skimmer intake to outside if you're close to a window or door. Those should raise your PH w/o using chemicals. Honestly I would not spend allot of effort or money trying to get a chase a number. The reward is not worth the issues you're going to cause or face by chasing #s.

 

[Velcro]

Can you open a window to allow fresh air into the house? You can also run an airline from your skimmer intake to outside if you're close to a window or door. Those should raise your PH w/o using chemicals. Honestly I would not spend allot of effort or money trying to get a chase a number. The reward is not worth the issues you're going to cause or face by chasing #s.

There’s a lot of evidence that hitting a ph of 8.2 at some point in the day leads to faster growth. I notice a significant alk demand difference between 7.8-8.0 vs 8.1-8.3

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Also, you can trust them a little less... there is no calcium in that product.

At least they recognized the Alk aspect. The manufacturer even gets that wrong. [emoji30]

 

[Velcro]

At least they recognized the Alk aspect. The manufacturer even gets that wrong. [emoji30]

Yea, I bet 95% of LFS employees wouldn’t even know about the alk.

 

[Dsnyguy75]

Thanks everybody! I think I'm going to try a CO2 scrubber. I have a 55G DT and a 20G Sump. Opening a window or door isn't an option with our other 4 legged family members.

 

[Velcro]

Thanks everybody! I think I'm going to try a CO2 scrubber. I have a 55G DT and a 20G Sump. Opening a window or door isn't an option with our other 4 legged family members.

I’ll be doing a short write up later today on how I incorporated a co2 scrubber into my system in a way that prevents the media from drying out and maximizes efficiency be recycling air from the tank vs. pulling high-co2 room air.