Raising and stabilizing PH

nycman · 04/14/2019, 08:28 PM

My PH is the only parameter that I have not been able to adequately control. It drifts between 7.8 and 8.1 or slightly lower. I tried many things, at same time and independently. The big three were 1) airing out the fish room with fresh air (I live in a new house that is tightly sealed), 2) dosing kalkswasser in my ATO, and 3) using a CO2 scrubber with CO2 adsorption media attached to the air inlet on my skimmer. Have to say, after a few weeks of isolating variables it is 3) CO2 scrubbing that did the trick. My PH is no stable in the 8.2 to 8.35 range.

bertoni · 04/14/2019, 11:46 PM

That makes sense. Most houses run a bit high in carbon dioxide, which lowers the pH. I'm glad the scrubber was able to help. Sometimes aeration via the room air overwhelms the scrubber, from what I can tell from people's reports.

otimer · 04/15/2019, 06:13 AM

For your reference, i'm running a sodalime CO2 scubber, a reverse cycle iluminated small macro algae reactor and a Ca reactor. The daily swing of pH is about 8.05~8.25 just after the sodalime is replaced. I replace the sodalime when the lower end reaches 7.80.
While 5~7 visitors stay in my living room where the tank is located together with my 3 family members, it drops 0.15~0.20 within 2~4 hours during winter time due to the elevated CO2 in the room.
This is a bit better than those of the local reefers living in apartments.
The measurements are made by hanna hi 8424 regularly calibrated.

bertoni · 04/15/2019, 10:16 PM

Thanks for the information!

04/14/2019, 08:28 PM	#1
nycman Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2017 Location: New York City Posts: 199	Raising and stabilizing PH My PH is the only parameter that I have not been able to adequately control. It drifts between 7.8 and 8.1 or slightly lower. I tried many things, at same time and independently. The big three were 1) airing out the fish room with fresh air (I live in a new house that is tightly sealed), 2) dosing kalkswasser in my ATO, and 3) using a CO2 scrubber with CO2 adsorption media attached to the air inlet on my skimmer. Have to say, after a few weeks of isolating variables it is 3) CO2 scrubbing that did the trick. My PH is no stable in the 8.2 to 8.35 range. __________________ 72x26x24 Miracles rimless with ReefSavvy ghost overflow 4xMitras LX7206 / Lifereef sump, skimmer and fuge 302 Aquatics algae scrubber / JBJ 1/3 HP Chiller Aqua UV 28W

04/14/2019, 11:46 PM	#2
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	That makes sense. Most houses run a bit high in carbon dioxide, which lowers the pH. I'm glad the scrubber was able to help. Sometimes aeration via the room air overwhelms the scrubber, from what I can tell from people's reports. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

04/15/2019, 06:13 AM	#3
otimer Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Location: Seoul Korea Posts: 24	For your reference, i'm running a sodalime CO2 scubber, a reverse cycle iluminated small macro algae reactor and a Ca reactor. The daily swing of pH is about 8.05~8.25 just after the sodalime is replaced. I replace the sodalime when the lower end reaches 7.80. While 5~7 visitors stay in my living room where the tank is located together with my 3 family members, it drops 0.15~0.20 within 2~4 hours during winter time due to the elevated CO2 in the room. This is a bit better than those of the local reefers living in apartments. The measurements are made by hanna hi 8424 regularly calibrated. __________________ 150G SPS Dominant Tank controlled by GHL Profilux 4 4-Mitras LX7, 2-Vectra M1, 4-MP40wqd, R.E Double Cone 200 w/ RD3

04/15/2019, 10:16 PM	#4
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Thanks for the information! __________________ Jonathan Bertoni