Maintaining pH
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: SPS
Forum Description: This is the place to ask questions SPS corals.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=49919
Printed Date: January 11 2026 at 3:06pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 12.03 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Maintaining pH
Posted By: rfoote
Subject: Maintaining pH
Date Posted: July 03 2011 at 7:59am
| Just looking for some opinions/experience on best methods to maintain pH without manually adding buffer. kalk reactor, calcium reactor, co2 scrubber, etc. Thanks! |
Replies:
Posted By: kellerexpress
Date Posted: July 03 2011 at 10:22am
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Running a lit refugium opposite the main lighting cycle will help. ------------- IM 30L Kessil A160we x2 |
Posted By: badfinger
Date Posted: July 03 2011 at 10:38am
| I use kalk in all my top off water.... I do have a ATO so it makes it oh so easy |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: July 03 2011 at 11:22am
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I'm running into this challenge also, I tried opposite light for my sump but only brought the ph up for an hour the dropped down again. I tried doing the top off with kalk in the middle of the night - I didn't even notice a change in the PH. I'm currently slowing growing my alk to about 12 as I'm told the basic level of alk is ph in reserve. ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: rfoote
Date Posted: July 03 2011 at 11:33am
| I run reverse daylight in refugium as well. I personally think, unless you have a large enough refugium with rock, macro, etc. this will help marginally. I can keep my pH up above 8.0, but that is with manually using buffer regularly. I'd rather automate this. I have an ATO hooked to a float valve directly from my RO in the basement with just a drip line. Not sure I could push enough pressure as far away as it is to have a holding tank there with kalk... |
Posted By: Snowsrfr
Date Posted: July 03 2011 at 9:27pm
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My 50 cube is a SPS dominate tank, and I run a Ca reactor (built by tcfab) and it keeps my pH "rock steady" 24 hours a day. I only experience a swing of about .03 or slightly higher through a 24 hour period.
My .02 cents... |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: July 04 2011 at 10:15am
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That's awesome to hear, the ca reactor does that much control on ph. I thought a ca reactor would bring ph down.... ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: Merk
Date Posted: July 06 2011 at 12:30am
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Try dosing Vodka or vinegar when your lights come on to keep your ph a bit lower especially if you use kalk. This might counter the kalk and keep the tank from having such a dramatic swing in ph over a 24 hr period. Start dosing vodka or vinegar in very small amounts, like a few ml and gradually increase it over a long period of time. It's a very gradual process and will take time to see results. ------------- Downtown Salt Lake City 801-809-2367 |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: July 06 2011 at 9:44am
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My PH is currently swinging from 8.02 to 8.23. If I do this over time, what do you mean by seeing results? What would this accomplish by doing it over time? ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: rfoote
Date Posted: July 06 2011 at 10:40am
| I actually think dosing Vodka or any carbon source will drop pH? It depletes oxygen, which will cause a drop in pH right? |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: July 06 2011 at 1:08pm
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That is my understanding, and where i'm getting the top end of my ph where I want it, why would I want to bring it down? ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: DLindquist
Date Posted: July 06 2011 at 8:43pm
If you should decide to dose Vodka or vinegar- Do your research first. Not something you want to just jump into. This could bring about problems far worse than low PH. I also run a calcium reactor along with a skimmer. My PH stays at a constant 8.2. I still have not had a chance to set up my refugium. My sump has an unbelievable amount of oxygen turn over. I truly believe certain synthetic salts will bring down your PH. This has been my personal experience. ------------- A government strong enough to give you everything you want, is powerful enough to take everything you have. |
Merk wrote:Posted By: CapnMorgan
Date Posted: July 06 2011 at 9:00pm
I totally agree, vodka dosing is not something to take lightly or jump into without doing a LOT a research on the subject. Does it work? Yes. Can it crash your tank? Yes. The bottom line is know what you're getting into so you can plan accordingly. To help raise pH you can do many simple things like point powerheads and returns at the surface to cause more agitation. This facilitates better gas exchange which helps the water hold more oxygen, which then increases pH. Running a RDP refugium can also help increase dissolved oxygen at night when CO2 tends to build up due to lack of photosynthesis. A protien skimmer will also help. ------------- Steve http://utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=40637&PID=356246" rel="nofollow - My Old 180G Mixed Reef Currently: 120G Wavefront Mixed 29G Seahorse & Softies Running ReefAngel Plus x2 435-8 |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: July 06 2011 at 10:52pm
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My 2 cents: Keeping Alkalinity in range and then moving the water from bottom to top as fast as possible is all it takes. An RDP Refugium is useful but I've had about 10 tanks since my last RDP Refugium tank in 2007 and they all worked great growing SPS and everything else really well. My last bit of advice is to stop worrying about pH. I have not checked pH in any of my tanks since sometime before the year 2000. It's just not that big of a deal as long as Alk is in range.  ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member 
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Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: September 10 2011 at 9:32am
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I wanted to share a success. I changed salts to red sea black bucket salt and my ph has improved dramatically. Lowest is goes is about 8.19 and goes up to 8.41. I set my ato to fill at night as the ph starts to drop, my ato has a kalk reactor in line and it really only slows the ph drop minimally. So far I'm very impressed with this salt, I was using oceanic before. Drfostersmith.com has the big bucket on sale for $54 and no shipping costs - great price! ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 10 2011 at 12:44pm
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That's great. I never have liked Oceanic salt. It just never has seemed right to me to have extra Ca in the salt mix when Alk is so terribly important. Is the Alkalinity staying higher now? I suspect that the reason pH is higher is because of the teeter-totter effect of Alk and Ca. Pouring more Calcium rich Oceanic salt into the tank with each water change was pushing Alk down and with it went pH. This is the beneficial buffering effect that comes from anything which helps Alkalinity. As far as salt mixes go, I believe the same improved effect would happen with the tried and true standard Instant Ocean salt mix. This is my opinion, of course. From what I said above about not worrying about pH, out of curiousity, my followup questions would be: Have you noticed any difference in the tank? Are coral happier? Are fish brighter? ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: DLindquist
Date Posted: September 10 2011 at 3:06pm
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That's great to hear. I too strive for a constant PH- of 8.2.As I stated earlier, certain salt mixes will have an affect on your PH. Oceanic is one of them. I love the higher calcium content Oceanic contains, so I continue to use this salt. However, I mix it in equal parts with my Instant Ocean salt to avoid lower PH. ...and if you're happier with the results, it's all worth it. ------------- A government strong enough to give you everything you want, is powerful enough to take everything you have. |
Posted By: Jeffatpm
Date Posted: September 10 2011 at 3:17pm
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The corals are happier and even my badly sucked in candy cand that it's skeleton is covered with coraline algea. It's pushing out and trying to be bushy again. I see the colors on my corals to be a bit brighter and polyps extending more. As far as fish I haven't noticed a difference other than my chocolate tang having a spine of my urchin in his side this morning (puzzled) - Hopefully he heals ok.
Dlindquist - I thought about doing a half and half but I found the red sea salt for a pretty good deal online $54 for the big black bucket. I may mix with instant ocean going forward. ------------- 210 Reef with loads of LEDS Large Fishey Room Located Near Jordan Landing in West Jordan. |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: September 11 2011 at 11:20am
That's fantastic. I'd really like to know, What were the Alk and Ca testing before and what are they now, after changing to RS Coral Pro? FYI, Not too long ago, IO salt in the 200 gal mix was $45 with free shipping from F&S. It comes as four unmarked bags in a box. ------------- Reefkeeping Tips, & quick, easy setup tricks: www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=9244 Pay it forward - become a paid WMAS member
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Posted By: DLindquist
Date Posted: September 11 2011 at 12:27pm
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FYI, Not too long ago, IO salt in the 200 gal mix was $45 with free shipping from F&S. It comes as four unmarked bags in a box.
[/QUOTE] I picked up four of these boxes for a similar price from The Aquarium not to long ago. ------------- A government strong enough to give you everything you want, is powerful enough to take everything you have. |
Posted By: laynframe
Date Posted: September 11 2011 at 7:33pm
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I also use a Tcfab special calcium reactor and my levels are constant all the time. If you get tired of manually doseing to maintain your levels, I would recommend a calcium reactor for sure! ------------- The time we enjoy wasting isn't wasted time!!!! |