Ph 9.7!!!!!!

[jaime31]

I left at 12am and came home at 4am and my tank was completely white and my ph was at 9.7. Things aren’t looking good I swear I can cry right now.. something went wrong with my skimmer and co2 scrubber.. it got soaked and started dumping wet co2 media into my water and now the tank is at 9.7!!!! Pls help

 

[Stephen8169301]

#reefsquad
#fishmedic

 

[Stephen8169301]

I left at 12am and came home at 4am and my tank was completely white and my ph was at 9.7. Things aren’t looking good I swear I can cry right now.. something went wrong with my skimmer and co2 scrubber.. it got soaked and started dumping wet co2 media into my water and now the tank is at 9.7!!!! Pls help

Do you have any photos

 

[gbroadbridge]

I left at 12am and came home at 4am and my tank was completely white and my ph was at 9.7. Things aren’t looking good I swear I can cry right now.. something went wrong with my skimmer and co2 scrubber.. it got soaked and started dumping wet co2 media into my water and now the tank is at 9.7!!!! Pls help

What animals do you have in the tank?

Check your alkalinity as it may be high.

I'd suggest a 50% water change to start with.

 

[Reefahholic]

Grab some sample water to test and set aside. I agree with @gbroadbridge. Immediately perform a 50% water change.

I’m unsure how harmful the CO2 media mixed with saltwater actually is, but I’ve heard it can nuke a tank. Not sure if that is from the pH spike alone or if it introduces a pollutant or both. Either way, a series of water changes will probably be your best bet. Maybe some carbon, but that might make things worse. IDK. I think I’d personally do a large water change and then reevaluate from there.

@CoralFragZ
@PSXerholic
@jda
@therman

 

[piranhaman00]

Must have float switch plus redundancy when running recirculating scrubber. Probably not recoverable. Good Luck

 

[Garf]

I left at 12am and came home at 4am and my tank was completely white and my ph was at 9.7. Things aren’t looking good I swear I can cry right now.. something went wrong with my skimmer and co2 scrubber.. it got soaked and started dumping wet co2 media into my water and now the tank is at 9.7!!!! Pls help

You got any hydrochloric acid?

 

[Reefahholic]

Here’s a response from Danny Cabo on Facebook that might be helpful:

“Same thing happened to me a few months ago, I immediately did a 30% water change to get Alk lower. Ph leveled off the next day. I thought I was going to loose everything. My theory is because I run higher nutrients I didn't loose anything. Po4 was 0.12 and No3 was 25.”

“I have since stopped recirculating my skimmer. Not worth it to me.”

“Reefahholic Houston yes I run Alk at 7.8-8, after this event I tested 3 times at 10. I was freaking out!”

“As far as contamination I don't think so, I ran carbon for a few days after just to make sure.”

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Have any pics of your setup? I would like to understand how this may of happen.

 

[jaime31]

Thanks guys for all the reply’s I passed out it was so late I was exhausted.. I see a bunch of dead fish even some of my expensive ones. Corals look shrunk up but not dead.. I haven’t tested but I immediately did a 30% water change and burned thru my Ro water. I called my lfs to have 20gallons of Ro ready for me in the morning.. I’ll post a video of when I got home and I’ll start testing the water. Thanks again

 

[gbroadbridge]

Here’s a response from Danny Cabo on Facebook that might be helpful:

“Same thing happened to me a few months ago, I immediately did a 30% water change to get Alk lower. Ph leveled off the next day. I thought I was going to loose everything. My theory is because I run higher nutrients I didn't loose anything. Po4 was 0.12 and No3 was 25.”

Thats right, Calcium Hydroxide contains a lot of Alkalinity, which is the main concern in a reef tank.

A 50% W/C should bring it back down enough to prevent major problems.

 

[Garf]

Thats right, Calcium Hydroxide contains a lot of Alkalinity, which is the main concern in a reef tank.

A 50% W/C should bring it back down enough to prevent major problems.

Unfortunately it’s a lot more potent than just calcium hydroxide. It also contains excess sodium hydroxide, which makes it a dried form of my DIY F-Aiptasia, until it gets wet, that is.

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Looks like your skimmer overflowed and sucked in saturated lime water?

 

[Tuan’s Reef]

Maybe a drain plug on the skimmer cup or an optical sensor would save the day

 

[jaime31]

Yes that’s exactly what happened. Ph is slowly dropping at 9.2 now.. ALK is at 5.7 weird. Most likely due to precipitation. There’s white crust and film all over the tank

 

[Reefahholic]

Thats right, Calcium Hydroxide contains a lot of Alkalinity, which is the main concern in a reef tank.

A 50% W/C should bring it back down enough to prevent major problems.

It was CO2 media right.?

 

[jaime31]

It was CO2 media right.?

Yeah it was co2 media.. my tangs are on their side and still breathing. Thank god! I feel like they might make it. This is what the tank looks like now. I’m gonna leave to pickup some more ro water

 

[Reefahholic]

Yeah it was co2 media.. my tangs are on their side and still breathing. Thank god! I feel like they might make it. This is what the tank looks like now. I’m gonna leave to pickup some more ro water

I just realized CO2 media is Sodium Hydroxide. This would be similar to a Kalk overdose. That is interesting to know.

 

[gbroadbridge]

I just realized CO2 media is Sodium Hydroxide. This would be similar to a Kalk overdose. That is interesting to know.

It can be various chemicals such as Sodium Hydroxide and Calcium Hydroxide.

I assumed that the OP's was calcium hydroxide as that is what BRS sell, but I could be wrong.

 

[jaime31]

I just realized CO2 media is Sodium Hydroxide. This would be similar to a Kalk overdose. That is interesting to know.

Yeah exactly. Thankfully it was only happened for an hr or two because my in-law said she was looking at the tank close to 1am..

note to self! If running a co2 scrubber then investing in a auto shutoff for your skimmer is a must.


Hey reefers I need some advice. After doing two big 30% water changes I got my ph down to 8.8 I initially dosed about 70ml of vinegar and it dropped from 9.7 to 9.4 and then with the WC I’m at 8.8. Can anybody tell me if I can safely add more vinegar? Thanks

Rip my little buddies. I’m sorry for screwing up