Increasing PH by Decreasing CO2

[shaywood]

I want to increase tank PH by running a fresh air line to my skimmer air intake. Do you think running it to the crawlspace would be good enough, or does it have to go all the way outside?

 

 

[Bevo5]

You can also run it through a CO2 scrubber right in your sump. I did that for a while and it worked very well, but I just don't have the space anymore. 

 

I just took a 2liter soda bottle, poked a bunch of holes in it and then filled it with soda lime...BRS even sells a version but I'm sure they charge a lot more than the online place I found. I think I got like 10pounds for $8. 

 

Anyway - poke a hole in the lid and run your airline into the bottle. Make sure enough holes are poked to get enough air into your skimmer. 

 

I got my PH up about .2 with it.

[youcallmenny]

Here's a relevant BRS video I watched recently regarding the matter.  He talks both about the airline into the skimmer (which he says needs to be from outside) and a CO2 scrubber.

 

https://youtu.be/t69huBU8xyM?t=134

[shaywood]

Mantis,  where did you buy the soda lime?

[Bevo5]

Here's where I got mine:  http://www.shopmedvet.com/product/soda-lime-3-lb-bag

 

I guess it was 3lb bag...not 10. With shipping it was $15 and I used about half of it to fill up the 2liter. I also drilled pretty big holes and used the lower foot part of a pair of pantyhose to wrap around the bottle so none of the soda lime could fall out.

[JManrow]

Years ago we used Ball brand Pickling Lime(Calcium Hydroxide) for kalkwasser. Ball discontinued it around 2005, but Mrs. Wages® Pickling Lime works as well. It is available online, and also sold in a few stores. http://store.mrswagesstore.com/mrswagpiclim.html                                                                                                                                                        

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Vance164]

Do you think the co2 scrubber is a better option than fresh air from outside? I'm trying to decide what I'd like to do here outside wouldn't be hard as I'm on an exterior wall and can plumb to crawlspace to a vent

[The ReefBox]

I've never understood how people struggle with tank ph except those with calcium reactors. Even with my reactor going full time my ph in tank stays between 8.0 and 8.4

[Vance164]

I've never understood how people struggle with tank ph except those with calcium reactors. Even with my reactor going full time my ph in tank stays between 8.0 and 8.4

I'm not sure but in my tank everytime I've tested it's 7.6

[The ReefBox]

You use test kit or calibrated probe?

[Bevo5]

I also have a low PH issue. It hovers around 8 but dips down to 7.9 at night. Not horribly low, but I'd love to have it up about 8.1 all the time. There are so many contributing factors that I have no idea how to judge what the cause is. I have a 29 biocube in the same room which stays at 8.2-8.3. My guess is something with surface area to water volume.

 

I used a Co2 scrubber and it worked great...gives you a little bump (maybe .1 or so). I just i didn't have the room and it kept getting knocked around. But it's a solid option.

 

Or - kalk up your ATO reservoir. That takes a bit more fine tuning.

[Ninjabeaver]

I also have a low PH issue. It hovers around 8 but dips down to 7.9 at night. Not horribly low, but I'd love to have it up about 8.1 all the time. There are so many contributing factors that I have no idea how to judge what the cause is. I have a 29 biocube in the same room which stays at 8.2-8.3. My guess is something with surface area to water volume.

 

I used a Co2 scrubber and it worked great...gives you a little bump (maybe .1 or so). I just i didn't have the room and it kept getting knocked around. But it's a solid option.

 

Or - kalk up your ATO reservoir. That takes a bit more fine tuning.

I have wanted to use some kalk in my ATO but I am always worried that it will plug up my ato pump.

[TheClark]

Here is an interesting alternative.

 

I once had an external intake for my skimmer.  It did not do much to the PH.

 

So I added a co2 monitor to my office, where the aquarium is.  When Co2 gets too high, I just crack a window.  

 

Turns out that is not very often.  When I am over 800 ppm I crack the window but our house must be drafty enough.

 

The biggest PH impact for me was running Kalk in the topoff water.  That absolutely trumped the skimmer fresh air intake.

All for what its worth, just sharing ideas.

 

Good luck!

[shaywood]

I initially ran a line outside,but found the length decreased effectiveness of the skimmer. Now I use a scrubber using BRS's universal filter. Works great, but the soda lime turns blue quickly. I hope to only use in Winter months. pH is about 8.2 to 8.3.

[Ninjabeaver]

Here is an interesting alternative.

 

I once had an external intake for my skimmer. It did not do much to the PH.

 

So I added a co2 monitor to my office, where the aquarium is. When Co2 gets too high, I just crack a window.

 

Turns out that is not very often. When I am over 800 ppm I crack the window but our house must be drafty enough.

 

The biggest PH impact for me was running Kalk in the topoff water. That absolutely trumped the skimmer fresh air intake.

All for what its worth, just sharing ideas.

 

Good luck!

In your experience would it be ok to put Kalk in ato with a small power head to keep it well stirred?

 

 

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[TheClark]

Hey Ninja,

 

For what its worth...

 

I really recommend Kalk reactors, here's why.

 

They push clean water through the kalk vs drawing kalk water into the pump

 

Otherwise the pumps take a beating sucking up the Kalk water and eventually fail.

 

I used this approach with aqualifter (past) and peristaltic pumps (current).

 

You can DIY a kalk reactor pretty easily if you can place it high enough to gravity feed the sump.  Of course watch for siphon issues.

 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=diy+kalk+reactor&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=950&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj90fyYjfDRAhVP8WMKHdOcAhIQsAQIJg

[Ninjabeaver]

Hey Ninja,

 

For what its worth...

 

I really recommend Kalk reactors, here's why.

 

They push clean water through the kalk vs drawing kalk water into the pump

 

Otherwise the pumps take a beating sucking up the Kalk water and eventually fail.

 

I used this approach with aqualifter (past) and peristaltic pumps (current).

 

You can DIY a kalk reactor pretty easily if you can place it high enough to gravity feed the sump. Of course watch for siphon issues.

 

 

https://www.google.com/search?q=diy+kalk+reactor&espv=2&biw=1920&bih=950&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwj90fyYjfDRAhVP8WMKHdOcAhIQsAQIJg

I have an extra unused dosing pump that I could set up. I have lots of extra Kalk and maybe it could give me a a little boost on dosing.

 

 

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[TheClark]

I have an extra unused dosing pump that I could set up. I have lots of extra Kalk and maybe it could give me a a little boost on dosing.

 

 

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Not a bad idea, lots of good stuff to read up on.

 

It sure seems many successful tanks run Kalk.  

 

Myself? I run kalk with a separate pump from the ATO.  That way, summer/fall/winter the same amount is dosed irregardless of evaporation.  The ATO picks up the slack that the kalk did not keep up with.

[Higher Thinking]

Just do what I do and never measure pH. Problem solved. I think I measured my pH a little over a year ago, no idea what it was. I ran a probe in my reactor for about a month when I first set it up. I dropped the probe and broke it. Now I'm just on that steady freestyle!

[Higher Thinking]

Double post.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Higher Thinking

[Higher Thinking]

Wow, triple post.

Edited February 2, 2017 by Higher Thinking

[danlu_gt]

I use kalk as ATO. Measuring pH let me know when I need to add more kalk in the kalk reactor. My pH range is 8.55 to 8.2 at night. When it drops close to 8.0 at night, my kalk reactor is depleted.

 

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[TaylorW]

Just do what I do and never measure pH. Problem solved. I think I measured my pH a little over a year ago, no idea what it was. I ran a probe in my reactor for about a month when I first set it up. I dropped the probe and broke it. Now I'm just on that steady freestyle!

Love it! Lol.

 

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[Ninjabeaver]

Just do what I do and never measure pH. Problem solved. I think I measured my pH a little over a year ago, no idea what it was. I ran a probe in my reactor for about a month when I first set it up. I dropped the probe and broke it. Now I'm just on that steady freestyle!

I don't ever measure ph either I may have with a bad test kit at the very beginning.

 

 

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[TheClark]

Many great reefers do not measure it.  

 

I started to do it because APEX came with a probe.  Now I do it just to know when Kalk is running low like Daniel or C02 in the house is running high.  

 

Funny story... The Kalk reactor had a leak a while back.  Reactor is in the reef room (garage right now).  Because the PH dropped I investigated and found the leak pretty early!