TheClark Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 At least according to this article... http://reefbuilders.com/2015/07/31/novas-lethal-seas-program-simple-lesson-carbonic-chemistry/ Apparently some oyster farmers are adding kalk to seawater to increase carbonate hardness. Not totally sure, as we have little in the way to measure CO2. Perhaps with mindstream it will be possible to track this better. Worth a read anyways and perhaps a chance to watch another reef show! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 At least according to this article... http://reefbuilders.com/2015/07/31/novas-lethal-seas-program-simple-lesson-carbonic-chemistry/ Apparently some oyster farmers are adding kalk to seawater to increase carbonate hardness. Not totally sure, as we have little in the way to measure CO2. Perhaps with mindstream it will be possible to track this better. Worth a read anyways and perhaps a chance to watch another reef show! In my opinion, ocean acidification is THE primary threat to the future of coral reefs. It's a sobering thought.....As the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere (due to human activities) continue to rise, the ocean continues to absorb most of this excess CO2, and this slowly lowers ocean pH. We all know what happens in our tanks when pH is too low. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 That is a sobering thought. In my local 'ocean', this just gave me the incentive to go ahead and run that skimmer line outside. One easy home CO2 test is the following. Take some water from the tank. Take the PH Run an airstone for 10 minutes Take the PH again. If the PH increases, you could reduce co2 by simply aerating more Take the water and air pump/airstone outside Run airstone for 10 minutes. If PH increases, you could reduce co2 by getting more fresh air into the room Thanks RHF for that simple and logical test. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) I suspect that if you live in the city, aerating your water will bring more CO2 into solution and will lower your pH. Unfortunately, the same atmosphere that is lowering pH in the ocean is the atmosphere that we are all living in. EDIT: Scratch that thought.....because of the livestock in the tank producing CO2, probably not. But I bet that aeration won't raise pH very much. Edited July 31, 2015 by Lexinverts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 I sit in my office and generate CO2 all day! You can tell on the apex when I am out of the office for days, the PH goes up! Guess I need more circulation in here Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) I sit in my office and generate CO2 all day! You can tell on the apex when I am out of the office for days, the PH goes up! Guess I need more circulation in here Interesting! Is there are correlation between this and what you had to eat the previous day? What does a trip to Taco Time do to the pH levels in your office tank? Edited July 31, 2015 by Lexinverts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Interesting! Is there are correlation between this and what you had to eat that previous day? What does a trip to Taco Time do to the pH levels in your office tank? Hahahah I was hoping the CO2 was from respiratory function, not digestion 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 LOL, I am starting to see how we could end up getting a little carried away by this continuous monitoring Mindstream/OCD-stream, reefing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigger334 Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 Cant you have a decent understanding of Co2 based on Alkalinity? I think there some charts out there. I prefer not to use Co2, so for that reason, I have never really considered it. As for Co2 for global warming. I recently heard, that while they may be increasing, the levels are actually now just becoming high enough, which is preferable for the vegetation here on Earth. Before there was a lacking to what is actually required for proper photosynthesis. Kinda interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 As for Co2 for global warming. I recently heard, that while they may be increasing, the levels are actually now just becoming high enough, which is preferable for the vegetation here on Earth. Before there was a lacking to what is actually required for proper photosynthesis. Kinda interesting. Sure, increased CO2 levels in the atmosphere can help plants with photosynthesis. Unfortunately, high CO2 also causes climate change and ocean acidification, which are not worth any increase you may see in plant productivity. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Cant you have a decent understanding of Co2 based on Alkalinity? I think there some charts out there. I prefer not to use Co2, so for that reason, I have never really considered it. It's interesting and true I believe based on reading (I don't have the chemistry background but like reading this stuff). I guess that new mindstream monitor taps into that fact using co2 and ph to determine alkalinity... http://reefbuilders.com/2015/07/29/answers-top-10-questions-mindstream/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted July 31, 2015 Share Posted July 31, 2015 (edited) Here's a link to a paper with a table that allows you to calculate CO2 concentration from alk and pH. https://www.extension.org/mediawiki/files/9/90/Interactions_of_pH,_Carbon_Dioxide,_Alkalinity,_and_Hardness.pdf Whoops, that's for freshwater, which is slightly different. Edited July 31, 2015 by Lexinverts Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 Ah, very interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trigger334 Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Here's what the plant guys use. http://www.barrreport.com/forum/barr-report/co2-enrichment/11862-co2-ph-kh-table What I was meaning about the co2 in the atmosphere, is that we are just now reaching the levels which is best for photosynthesis. Not that it's increasing photosynthesis, but just the optimum level. If we are able to tell the amount of co2 roughly by KH, maybe we should follow the KH trends of the ocean water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 Here's what the plant guys use. http://www.barrreport.com/forum/barr-report/co2-enrichment/11862-co2-ph-kh-table Right, but that doesn't work for saltwater. What I was meaning about the co2 in the atmosphere, is that we are just now reaching the levels which is best for photosynthesis. Not that it's increasing photosynthesis, but just the optimum level. It very likely does increase photosynthesis. Unfortunately, it does a lot of bad things too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Higher Thinking Posted August 1, 2015 Share Posted August 1, 2015 I suspect that if you live in the city, aerating your water will bring more CO2 into solution and will lower your pH. Unfortunately, the same atmosphere that is lowering pH in the ocean is the atmosphere that we are all living in. EDIT: Scratch that thought.....because of the livestock in the tank producing CO2, probably not. But I bet that aeration won't raise pH very much. When I open the windows at night, my pH will stay at 7.9-8.0. On nights that I don't open a window, the pH will drop to 7.75-7.8. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 When I open the windows at night, my pH will stay at 7.9-8.0. On nights that I don't open a window, the pH will drop to 7.75-7.8. Interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 I'm lucky to see 7.95 in the winter 7.65 at night and a high during the day 7.95 during the winter but since it's summer and the doors are open I see 8.2 at a high during the day and 7.95 at night, it's been this way for the last 5+ years 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 I'm lucky to see 7.95 in the winter 7.65 at night and a high during the day 7.95 during the winter but since it's summer and the doors are open I see 8.2 at a high during the day and 7.95 at night, it's been this way for the last 5+ years This is the kind of information that you would only get by running a continuous monitor of some sort. I think I need to get one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
badxgillen Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 This is the kind of information that you would only get by running a continuous monitor of some sort. I think I need to get one!all this is intriguing, you're right, I feel myself wanting to setup a PH probe in different parts of my house or different tanks at different environments\ buildings. I see alot of tanks in a week in many different atmospheres and now I have some curiosity about a couple business tanks that are stuck in high traffic,stifled rooms during the heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Jeremy, have you seen this CO2 scrubber from 2 Litttle Fishies? http://reefbuilders.com/2012/03/06/two-little-fishies-cdx/ It's a cool idea. It scrubs the CO2 out of your air before it goes into the skimmer, and helps keep pH up. Anyone here use it? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Yes! Intriguing right? I ran one a few months ago by converting a standard TLF reactor over and hooked it up to the big old 5' skimmer. It absolutely raised my PH in hours. However, the media burned up so fast it became quite the hassle. After a few refills I called it quits but it is in the closet for future tinkering Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lexinverts Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 Maybe it would work better for a smaller tank/skimmer. Your skimmer is pretty big, as I recall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 Maybe it would work better for a smaller tank/skimmer. Your skimmer is pretty big, as I recall. I thinks so! It would be awesome to do a true experiment. Two identical tanks, one tank with scrubber, one without. Compare results... I have spare media if interested... Ah the stuff we would all do if there were more time in the day! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Scott Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 I've actually been thinking of lowering my ph, my low today was 8.28 and the high was 8.34 if I remember it right. Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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