Where do you like your PH?

[ReefBeta]

8.3 is my ideal.

Before CO2 scrubber, it was 7.9~8.05

After CO2 scrubber, it's now 8.25~8.45. Still haven't find a good solution to turn off scrubber to control pH peak. Tried couple solenoids, but they're putting too much back pressure to work.

 

[HuduVudu]

tell that to my wife - due to covid and being stuck indoors she got addicted to the plant hobby and turned our living room into a jungle - no joke 40+ pots of plants and i had to install 5 new LED plant grow light.

at least now she can't complain when i buy more reef stuff

also, fwiw - i initially told her the exact same thing that plant has same day/night o2 co2 cycle so really doesnt impact net CO2, then she excitedly proceeded to school me in plant biology and the fact that certain plants (apparently most of what she bought) are the types that does not release co2 at night while still photosynthesize during the day so would have net positive affect on co2...

LOL. I thought the same thing. Got all excited. Turns out the CO2 monitor in the house says different.

The real reduction for me came in the form of an ERV.

If you want to see the saga you can check out my build thread. I really am peeved that the house plants solution didn't work. Now I have a bunch of house plants to take care of and worse my friend keeps dragging in every unwanted house plant and giving it to me thinking I like the dang things.

 

[N.Sreefer]

Plants actually absorb o2 at night they only absorb c02 when photosynthesizing. So plants are not the best. The greenhouse I work in has 02 monitors for occupational health and safety reasons because at night the 02 can be very low in some of the buildings. Running a reversed photoperiod on a refugium should help.

 

[s_tempest]

Sorry to revive a 2-month-old thread but:
What benefits or changes have you seen with pH above 8.2?
Do your corals grow faster/better/more colorful?
I’m thinking of trying to raise my pH.

 

[PeterC99]

Sorry to revive a 2-month-old thread but:
What benefits or changes have you seen with pH above 8.2?
Do your corals grow faster/better/more colorful?
I’m thinking of trying to raise my pH.

My corals have really taken off after installing a CO2 scrubber and raising my pH to 8.3 from 7.9.

 

[Yates273]

Two months ago, I installed an CO2 scrubber. PH went from 7.95 to 8.35. Highly recommend. Have airflow recirculating through skimmer cup. Haven’t changed CO2 media in 2 moths. Corals growing 50% faster.

What media are you using. I am getting close to 3 months with Icekap scrubber media. Was looking to go with the Soda lime from shop med vet.

 

[Aldrinlights]

For those who run an air line to the outside from the skimmer... How do you do that? Keep a window cracked open a bit with a hose in it? Drill a hole to the basement and go out the foundation of the house?

 

[MichaelReefer]

8.5

 

[jmichaelh7]

I’ve installed Co2 scrubbed and can’t get above 8.19

 

[PeterC99]

What media are you using. I am getting close to 3 months with Icekap scrubber media. Was looking to go with the Soda lime from shop med vet.

 

[Yates273]

For those who run an air line to the outside from the skimmer... How do you do that? Keep a window cracked open a bit with a hose in it? Drill a hole to the basement and go out the foundation of the house?

I have mine hooked up to a valve which is attached to my scrubber. All running through my apex with a BOB. I have 3/4 pvc which runs above my drop ceiling in basement and outside the house. I drilled through the wall above my foundation and draw fresh air that way. The only time I draw air from outside is if my scrubber goes above 8.35. Apex will turn the valve and redirect from scrubber to outside air if this makes sense to you. If you close to a window just try with a piece of pipe going out the window before you drill into your house. Pipe to the left is where I draw in fresh air

 

[Uncle99]

Sorry to revive a 2-month-old thread but:
What benefits or changes have you seen with pH above 8.2?
Do your corals grow faster/better/more colorful?
I’m thinking of trying to raise my pH.

For me when moving from 7.8 to 8.3-8.4 and running Alk at 200ppm, my daily alk/ca/mg consumption rose 50%, which I would think is going to skeletal growth.

At 7.8, daily consumption was a steady 10ppm, but at a PH of 8.4, consumption increased to 18ppm per day over 2-3 week.

Maybe that’s coincidence.

Right now I am a believer in running elevated parameters and PH in a mixed tank.

If there’s a down side, I have not seen it yet.

I seeing lots more white tips in the last few months.

 

[Billys_reef]

My alk demand doubled after installing a co2 scrubber. Was running my tank at 7.9-8.1 and now its 8.2-8.4

Can visually see that my acros are encrusting faster

 

[Coeurdenuit]

Drip Kalk.

 

[homer1475]

Unless your actively fragging and selling corals, whats the point of more growth? Heck I throw my clipping away, I do not want more growth. lol

Closest LFS is a 2 hour drive(they do not want frags, odd I know), and I know no one thats close that wants frags. Hence I throw them away. Increased PH just leads to more growth, and more demand in 2 part. I like to keep my PH low so I can stall some growth.

 

[ReefRusty]

My Ph fluctuates between 8.18 to 8.27 for last 3 months. Thats early morning when lights have been off for 12 hours and when lights have been on for 10 hours.

 

[BaysEndReef]

Ranges average from 7.75-8.12 in the last week. Will be adding a CO2 scrubber tomorrow to stabilize and increase.

 

[Hermie]

I've tested my pH maybe once in 2 years.

 

[PeterC99]

Ranges average from 7.75-8.12 in the last week. Will be adding a CO2 scrubber tomorrow to stabilize and increase.

Keep on eye on the pH after CO2 scrubber install. Mine could go as high as 8.5. Installed a calcium reactor which lowers pH and now keeps my tank pH between 8.15 and 8.30 with CO2 Scrubber.

 

[Timfish]

Above 7.6. DIC is arguably more important.

Aragonite Saturation State and Seawater PH Do Not Predict Rates of Calcification in a Reef-building Coral

Aragonite Saturation State and Seawater PH Do Not Predict Rates of Calcification in a Reef-building Coral

www.academia.edu

https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112/43/13219.full.pdf

Coral calcification in a changing World and the interactive dynamics of pH and DIC upregulation - Ocean Acidification

Coral calcification is dependent on the mutualistic partnership between endosymbiotic zooxanthellae and the coral host. Here, using newly developed geochemical proxies (δ11B and B/Ca), we show that Poritescorals from natural reef environments exhibit a close (r2 ∼0.9) antithetic relationship...

news-oceanacidification-icc.org