SPS reef pH at 7.85 - can’t increase

[taki123]

Hi guys,

New to this amazing forum - would love some of your help please.

I bought a Red Sea Reef 425Xl tank from a hobbyist who had a full setup running. I managed to bring everything over including the same water and fish and coral.

My pH has been at 7.85 and I’m struggling to get it to 8.2 - 8.4 range as recommended for SPS reef. My setup has a Red Sea skimmer 600, CO2 scrubber, Clarisea filter.

How should I take my pH up? Is there any way I can tell if the CO2 scrubber is even working? I have attached photos of the scrubber and setup.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

 

[coral reeftank]

I would first double check my ph probe and calibrate it again just to make sure I’m getting a proper reading.

From there if you’re looking for other ways to increase your pH you can ventilate your house more, implement kalkwasser, microbubble, feed your skimmer air from outside. There are a plethora of ways to increase pH. You could also try to increase surface agitation by having a fan blow across the top of the water.

Personally I use a saturated kalkwasser solution to keep my pH high and mitigate the low-pH effluent of my calcium reactor. It stays around 8.2 - 8.5. The kalk is introduced to my tank via my ato, therefore it is tied to the evaporation of my tank. I would recommend trying kalkwasser if you’re struggling with low pH, it also has the benefit of adding calcium and alkalinity as well.

 

[Tiki_Reef]

Co2 scrubbers are great at scrubbing the air they suck in via the skimmer, but the problem is the amount of co2 in the house itself is what is keeping the pH where it is at. The key to keeping sps isn't necessary a certain pH (yes higher pH will encourage faster growth) it is more stability and keeping the pH at a constant. I lucked out personally my pH is 8.16 at it's lowest and at it's peak tops out at about 8.35 dosing Kalk throughout the evening into morning and running a reverse photo period in my refugium. I guess you could try opening a window if possible to get more fresh air in the house or run your skimmer intake line outside both would cycle some of the stagnant air out and move fresh air in, one more question do you have good surface agitation in the tank, which is another great way to expell co2 out of the water.

 

[taki123]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your responses.

My house does have 10 residents so maybe that’s part of my problem!

i am growing some chaeto in the sump so using refuge light there which I have set up to run on reverse photo period as suggested! @Tiki_Reef

Maybe both your suggestions @coral reeftank @Tiki_Reef of taking the tube outside will work better than the CO2 scrubber for me.

Do you guys know what the valve on this scrubber does in photo attached? Im not even sure if the scrubber is working

 

[taki123]

Co2 scrubbers are great at scrubbing the air they suck in via the skimmer, but the problem is the amount of co2 in the house itself is what is keeping the pH where it is at. The key to keeping sps isn't necessary a certain pH (yes higher pH will encourage faster growth) it is more stability and keeping the pH at a constant. I lucked out personally my pH is 8.16 at it's lowest and at it's peak tops out at about 8.35 dosing Kalk throughout the evening into morning and running a reverse photo period in my refugium. I guess you could try opening a window if possible to get more fresh air in the house or run your skimmer intake line outside both would cycle some of the stagnant air out and move fresh air in, one more question do you have good surface agitation in the tank, which is another great way to expell co2 out of the water.

Which kalk solution do you tend to use normally? Could I use this in my RO for the ATO and use that to dose daily?

Also does it work out quite expensive if used as described above?

 

[Tiki_Reef]

Which kalk solution do you tend to use normally? Could I use this in my RO for the ATO and use that to dose daily?

Also does it work out quite expensive if used as described above?

I use a Kalk stirrer (Avast K1) hooked up to one of my Versa pumps and I figured out my dosage with the BRS Kalkwasser calculator the pump kicks in at 10:00 pm to 7:45 am, the cost is pennies on the dollar Kalkwasser is cheap. This is the kalkwasser I use https://www.aquaholicaquaculture.com/store/p126/Isol8-Kalkwasser.html


Added: I am not a fan of dosing Kalkwasser via ATO because of the possibility of a catastrophic failure such as the ATO pump being stuck on due to a faulty sensor or float switch, it literally could kill a tank if too much is dosed in a large amount.

 

[Tiki_Reef]

Here is a good video on a Kalk stirrer

 

[Tiki_Reef]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your responses.

My house does have 10 residents so maybe that’s part of my problem!

i am growing some chaeto in the sump so using refuge light there which I have set up to run on reverse photo period as suggested! @Tiki_Reef

Maybe both your suggestions @coral reeftank @Tiki_Reef of taking the tube outside will work better than the CO2 scrubber for me.

Do you guys know what the valve on this scrubber does in photo attached? Im not even sure if the scrubber is working

The valve would suggest he was using the recirculating method. It looks like the valve is in the off position in the picture.

 

[InactiveAcct]

Hi guys,

Thanks for your responses.

My house does have 10 residents so maybe that’s part of my problem!

i am growing some chaeto in the sump so using refuge light there which I have set up to run on reverse photo period as suggested! @Tiki_Reef

Maybe both your suggestions @coral reeftank @Tiki_Reef of taking the tube outside will work better than the CO2 scrubber for me.

Do you guys know what the valve on this scrubber does in photo attached? Im not even sure if the scrubber is working

It looks like that valve is to enable you to turn the scrubbing on - when valve is open air sucks through that (and scrubber). When valve is closed air goes only through scrubber.

I looked into using CO2 media but seemed really expensive long term. After my coral has grown in I like it low because I don’t need to prune as much.

Are you able to run an airline from outside to the skimmer? As others mentioned, kalk also increases ph, but I personally wasn’t a fan.
On a side note, here’s my ph, you can probably just about tell what days we (spouse, kids, dog) were out of town - crazy. Assuming the slow dip was because I didn’t dose alk

 

[taki123]

The valve would suggest he was using the recirculating method. It looks like the valve is in the off position in the picture.

Oh right! I will try to turn the valve and see what happens maybe that will be the solution to my problems

 

[taki123]

It looks like that valve is to enable you to turn the scrubbing on - when valve is open air sucks through that (and scrubber). When valve is closed air goes only through scrubber.

I looked into using CO2 media but seemed really expensive long term. After my coral has grown in I like it low because I don’t need to prune as much.

Are you able to run an airline from outside to the skimmer? As others mentioned, kalk also increases ph, but I personally wasn’t a fan.
On a side note, here’s my ph, you can probably just about tell what days we (spouse, kids, dog) were out of town - crazy. Assuming the slow dip was because I didn’t dose alk

oh wow that’s crazy how much it changes!

I think that may be my best solution to test an air line running from outside to the skimmer.

How would I go about figuring out what size air line I would need to fit the hole on the skimmer? I have the Red Sea skimmer 600 is that helps

 

[InactiveAcct]

oh wow that’s crazy how much it changes!

I think that may be my best solution to test an air line running from outside to the skimmer.

How would I go about figuring out what size air line I would need to fit the hole on the skimmer? I have the Red Sea skimmer 600 is that helps

It looks like that valve you asked about is an RODI push connect, so maybe try an RODI line just to see if it does anything.
Are you using a phone probe? Wondering your typical range throughout the day.

 

[taki123]

It looks like that valve you asked about is an RODI push connect, so maybe try an RODI line just to see if it does anything.
Are you using a phone probe? Wondering your typical range throughout the day.

I’ve attached a photo of my apex here so you can see the range.

 

[taki123]

Are any of you able to send me a link of the air tube I would need for my Red Sea skimmer 600?

I can see different sizes air tubes online but how would I know which one will fit? Sorry if it’s a dumb question

 

[InactiveAcct]

Are any of you able to send me a link of the air tube I would need for my Red Sea skimmer 600?

I can see different sizes air tubes online but how would I know which one will fit? Sorry if it’s a dumb question

I would just take the silencer to a hardware store. But to me it looks like standard airline tubing 3/16 would work, just eye balling the skimmer image. If you’re running a long length, you’ll probably want a larger diameter tubing so it does choke the skimmer / kink as easily, and tee out to the two circled inputs with smaller tubing just before the silencer.

 

[HudsonReefer2.0]

Hope u correct the ph problem but if u plan on keeping sps. I’d get a par meter and possibly add additional fixtures. I had to crank my 90led to max white and blu on my xl 300.

 

[taki123]

Thanks for all the advice guys!
I went to a fish store nearby and they mentioned I should first focus on getting my salinity levels right for my Sps reef.

I am currently on 1.0249sg/33ppm and need to reach 1.026sg/35ppm for the saltwater. Apparently these will result in a change in , magnesium, calcium and kh also which may also help with ph. He said once that’s sorted I can focus on improving the other parameters.

If I was to add salt water through ATO but the salinity of that was also only 1.0249sg would that still increase my salinity given that when the water evaporates it leaves salt behind? Or what’s the best approach I can take?

 

[dwest]

Thanks for all the advice guys!
I went to a fish store nearby and they mentioned I should first focus on getting my salinity levels right for my Sps reef.

I am currently on 1.0249sg/33ppm and need to reach 1.026sg/35ppm for the saltwater. Apparently these will result in a change in , magnesium, calcium and kh also which may also help with ph. He said once that’s sorted I can focus on improving the other parameters.

If I was to add salt water through ATO but the salinity of that was also only 1.0249sg would that still increase my salinity given that when the water evaporates it leaves salt behind? Or what’s the best approach I can take?

Any salt water you add to your tank will increase the salinity over time as the freshwater evaporates.

With that many people in your home, you will fight low pH. It’s just gonna happen. You can fight it or not. I wouldn’t. Focus on constant alkalinity first.