Proper alk for ULN tank?

[Lovefish77]

Well first Ill say you might not even have a pH issue. From my experience with running an airline it does work very well if you have a true CO2 issue. And with CO2 scrubbers you shouldn’t need to tweak it since it will only remove excess CO2 that is entering the skimmer. It’s worth looking in to your pH since it is important but if you don’t have a serious issue I would t do anything drastic.

Will see but airing my apartment is very stale as I hardly open the windows. If ican get a co2 meter to measure co2 on the apartment that would be great. Any suggestions for one that would not break the bank?
I read that running outside to the skimmer is ineffective after a certain length, my case would be like 35 feet or so of airline tubing.

 

[Brandon McHenry]

Will see but airing my apartment is very stale as I hardly open the windows. If ican grant a co2 meter to measure co2 on the apartment that would be great. Any suggestions for one that would not break the bank?

I’ve never looked in to those. They are pretty expensive as far as I know. Its probably easier to just get a decent pH probe and do the CO2 test to see if you have an issue.

 

[Lovefish77]

I’ve never looked in to those. They are pretty expensive as far as I know. Its probably easier to just get a decent pH probe and do the CO2 test to see if you have an issue.

Yes min cost for a decent one is $150 or so.
On a different note, this thread seems to imply that ATS scrubbers raise PH contrary to what i am hearing here. Any thoughts?

Side effects of Turf Scrubber

O.k. Wow, I've seen some major changes in water quality as my Turf Scrubber takes off. It's growing hair algae now within 2 days of cleaning it. And full of hair algae within 5 days! Huge massive changes there! It's awesome to see! I see Cyano starting to die off in the tank as well, which...

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[X-37B]

I run alk 7-7.5.
My carx keeps it at 7.2 most of the time. When growth occurs it will drop to 6.7 or so before I adjust.
No issue at all in my tank.
Po4 runs .02- .06 but most of the time when I remember to check its 3-5ppb on my hanna so around .02.
No3 ran 1-2 for over a year. It went to 10ish awhile ago as I have 14 fish in my 120.
I dose a small amount of carbon to feed the bacteria and corals. Im at 8ml a day and it also keeps no3 at 5-10 when I remember to test it.
I run no algae reactor or scrubber.
Just a filter sock and skimmer for nutrient control.
I do feed 6-8 cubes a day + some hikari pellets and nori.
NSW or close works best for me.

 

[Dr. Jim]

I read that running outside to the skimmer is ineffective after a certain length, my case would be like 35 feet or so of airline tubing.

You would just need a tube or pipe with a larger diameter than that of airline tubing. For 35', I would probably use 3/4" PVC pipe (or 3/4" plastic tubing would be my second choice).

 

[Lovefish77]

You would just need a tube or pipe with a larger diameter than that of airline tubing. For 35', I would probably use 3/4" PVC pipe (or 3/4" plastic tubing would be my second choice).

No chance on earth that i would drill the balcony door for 3/4" pvc tubing (the landlord would kill me) lol. That rules this option out

 

[Dr. Jim]

No chance on earth that i would drill the balcony door for 3/4" pvc tubing (the landlord would kill me) lol. That rules this option out

You could run the 3/4” pipe to the door and then reduce it to whatever you can get away with.
Do you have a window nearby? I put a thick piece of styrofoam along the sill and cut a hole for 1” pipe.

 

[Lovefish77]

You could run the 3/4” pipe to the door and then reduce it to whatever you can get away with.
Do you have a window nearby? I put a thick piece of styrofoam along the sill and cut a hole for 1” pipe.

No close-by windows unfortunately

 

[BradR]

I used to use my montipora appearance to tell if my alk was getting too high when running uln. The montipora would look unhappy before the sps became unhappy when the alk got too high.

 

[Lovefish77]

I used to use my montipora appearance to tell if my alk was getting too high when running uln. The montipora would look unhappy before the sps became unhappy when the alk got too high.

I used to do that (using montis as a barometer) for alk spikes. But i dont have as much montis anymore, and this is different as it struck acropora first at the tips then started hitting other sps later.