pH help, I need to increase it.

[Mr.Guy83]

Hello reefers, I have a question regarding pH. During the day my tank runs about 8.0 the highest I’ve ever seen is 8.1. At night it drops to around 7.8 or so. The tank has been up since Dec 25. It currently has 4 fish and no coral.(coral will be added at the end of April.) once I start to dose my two part or kalk. I haven’t decided which I’m going to use. Will that help raise my pH or should I invest in a CO2 scrubber?Feeding a line to the outside is out the question and it’s a smaller tank (reefer 170) so I fuge is a challenge due to space.

 

[Flexin]

I stayed away from the scrubber because of the ongoing cost from what I've read. Question (because I am working through this also since I have not dosed my tanks besides the water change) are you running your refugium light 24 hours or 12 (or no refugium)?

 

[Mr.Guy83]

I don’t have a refugium due to limited space in my stand. I’m pretty sure if I was running one it would help though.

 

[arking_mark]

I also struggle with pH and decided to go Kalkwasser for the pH boost. Randy also has a 2-part recipe with high pH.

I was averaging 7.8 to 7.9 daily. I added a skimmer to help with aeration and started Kalkwasser and am now seeing 8.1 to 8.2.

For Kalkwasser, I found a slow steady dosing had a better effect for pH. I'm using a gravity fed magnetic kalk mixer and dosing at 1.5ml/min for my 100+ gal tank. This equates to about .5dKH per day.

 

[Deep]

Your PH is fine where they are. I would not worry about it. I know we want everything to be perfect, but given where your tank is at this point , Ph is a non-issue.

 

[tippin.turtle]

My recirculating CO2 scrubber media lasts for over 30 days with proper maintenance. A small price for all the added benefits it provides. My PH remains steady at 8.0-8.3. Should be an essential piece of equipment like a heater or protein skimmer.
Best piece of gear I've purchased; hands down!

 

[arking_mark]

Your PH is fine where they are. I would not worry about it. I know we want everything to be perfect, but given where your tank is at this point , Ph is a non-issue.

I'm going to disagree here. There are many articles and studies that show as much as 50% increased growth at higher pH. So while you can run a tank fine at 7.7 pH or higher, it's less than optimal.

Since most tanks need Alk/Ca replacement through dosing, using Kalkwasser or a high pH 2-part, you can get the benefits of a pH bump if you need it.

 

[Mr.Guy83]

My recirculating CO2 scrubber media lasts for over 30 days with proper maintenance. A small price for all the added benefits it provides. My PH remains steady at 8.0-8.3. Should be an essential piece of equipment like a heater or protein skimmer.
Best piece of gear I've purchased; hands down!

The media on the far right goes to the skimmer? How is the rigged?

 

[Mr.Guy83]

I'm going to disagree here. There are many articles and studies that show as much as 50% increased growth at higher pH. So while you can run a tank fine at 7.7 pH or higher, it's less than optimal.

Since most tanks need Alk/Ca replacement through dosing, using Kalkwasser or a high pH 2-part, you can get the benefits of a pH bump if you need it.

That’s what I was reading as well . I want to get I good hold on my pH before I start adding coral. Doing the best I can to set myself up for success

 

[arking_mark]

I also struggle with pH and decided to go Kalkwasser for the pH boost. Randy also has a 2-part recipe with high pH.

I was averaging 7.8 to 7.9 daily. I added a skimmer to help with aeration and started Kalkwasser and am now seeing 8.1 to 8.2.

For Kalkwasser, I found a slow steady dosing had a better effect for pH. I'm using a gravity fed magnetic kalk mixer and dosing at 1.5ml/min for my 100+ gal tank. This equates to about .5dKH per day.

Also, you can estimate the pH bump Kalkwasser will give you. For my tank 1800ml (which is what I'm dosing) will raise my tank pH by about .12.

 

[tippin.turtle]

The media on the far right goes to the skimmer? How is the rigged?

 

[currentking]

Have you utilized a different ph test besides the apex? I have the same issue, almost exactly. I grabbed a Red Sea ph test kit and it is reading significantly higher. I and going to recaliberate...

 

[Mr.Guy83]

Have you utilized a different ph test besides the apex? I have the same issue, almost exactly. I grabbed a Red Sea ph test kit and it is reading significantly higher. I and going to recaliberate...

No, I have tried anything else but will definitely take a look into it

 

[arking_mark]

No, I have tried anything else but will definitely take a look into it

You can also do an aeration test to see why your pH may be low. Take a cup of tank water and run an airstone through it outside for like 30 minutes and measure pH. The do the same thing inside your house next to the tank.

If pH is higher outside, then like most people you have higher CO2 levels in your home.

If pH is higher next to the tank, your tank needs better aeration.

 

[Deep]

I'm going to disagree here. There are many articles and studies that show as much as 50% increased growth at higher pH. So while you can run a tank fine at 7.7 pH or higher, it's less than optimal.

Since most tanks need Alk/Ca replacement through dosing, using Kalkwasser or a high pH 2-part, you can get the benefits of a pH bump if you need it.

Well this is a fish only system at the moment. So why kalkwasser ?

I am well aware of the benefits of high PH. What I was saying was the levels in his tank are just fine for the live stock he has.

At this point ( 1 month old tank) , the OP needs to worry more about getting his bio-load and filtration to the point that his nutrient levels are stable. I would not worry about PH if it was a 1 month old tank.

 

[arking_mark]

Well this is a fish only system at the moment. So why kalkwasser ?

I am well aware of the benefits of high PH. What I was saying was the levels in his tank are just fine for the live stock he has.

At this point ( 1 month old tank) , the OP needs to worry more about getting his bio-load and filtration to the point that his nutrient levels are stable. I would not worry about PH if it was a 1 month old tank.

Good point. You shouldn't add kalk or 2-part unless something is using Alk/Ca.

You may want to look at my post on Alk/Ca/pH, where I decided that pH may be the key to unlocking my tank...jury is still out.

Chicken/egg problem for Alk/Ca/PH?

I transitioned off a 7+ year old tank and I'm 3 months into my new tank and have been struggling with getting my dosing regiment in. I started with 7ish Alk and a PH between 7.8 and 7.9. I use Brightwell Neomarine salt and have higher CO2 in the house. I decided to go Kalkwasser to get the PH...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[SteveMM62Reef]

I’m not sure why someone would use a CO2 scrubber??? All you need is a Cheap Air Pump, that the cover can be easily remove, Silicone Aquarium Cement, Some Ridged Plastic Tubing, Soft Airline, a Pill Bottle Scraps of Dacron Filter Material, Charcoal, and a drill. Take the cover off the Air Pump, drill a small hole in the pump body towards the Coil. “Tip put something between the coil and body of the pump, so you don’t accidentally nick the coil.“ Put a thin bead of Silicone on the pump base and reinstall it. Seal around the cord inlet too. Run your airline outside. BTW you can follow another pipe outside, such as your AC Tubing, Dryer Vent, or drill a small hole for the tubing exit. Drill the cap on the pill bottle, and place another small piece of ridged in the hole. Drill a bunch of small holes in the end of the pill bottle. Put a scrap of the Dacron in the Pill bottle, add the charcoal and place another scrap of Dacron on top of that. I fed the outside air, into by skimmer intake. Some other places are your overflow tubing down to your sump. I wanted to avoid bubbling the air in an open area, to lessen salt creep. BTW if your house CO2 levels are high, you may want to get an air exchange unit, as this can affect your families health too. Broan and AprilAire have some nice ones for under $1K.

 

[arking_mark]

I’m not sure why someone would use a CO2 scrubber??? All you need is a Cheap Air Pump, that the cover can be easily remove, Silicone Aquarium Cement, Some Ridged Plastic Tubing, Soft Airline, a Pill Bottle Scraps of Dacron Filter Material, Charcoal, and a drill. Take the cover off the Air Pump, drill a small hole in the pump body towards the Coil. “Tip put something between the coil and body of the pump, so you don’t accidentally nick the coil.“ Put a thin bead of Silicone on the pump base and reinstall it. Seal around the cord inlet too. Run your airline outside. BTW you can follow another pipe outside, such as your AC Tubing, Dryer Vent, or drill a small hole for the tubing exit. Drill the cap on the pill bottle, and place another small piece of ridged in the hole. Drill a bunch of small holes in the end of the pill bottle. Put a scrap of the Dacron in the Pill bottle, add the charcoal and place another scrap of Dacron on top of that. I fed the outside air, into by skimmer intake. Some other places are your overflow tubing down to your sump. I wanted to avoid bubbling the air in an open area, to lessen salt creep. BTW if your house CO2 levels are high, you may want to get an air exchange unit, as this can affect your families health too. Broan and AprilAire have some nice ones for under $1K.

I looked into that as well. My tanks location does not really work for running an air line to outside and the OP stated this was not a viable option.

 

[PeterC99]

Highly recommend CO2 scrubber. Installed one 2 months ago and saw dramatic rise in pH. Recycle air through skimmer- haven’t change CO2 media in those 2 months. Cheaper, easy to install, and very effective. Saw pH increase from 7.8 to 8.35 and corals are growing significantly faster.

 

[currentking]

Just tested and Red Sea says 8 and apex says 7.9