pH question
Printed From: Utah Reefs
Category: Specialized Discussion
Forum Name: Reef Chemistry
Forum Description: A place to discuss reef chemistry.
URL: http://www.utahreefs.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=42181
Printed Date: July 07 2026 at 1:50am
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Topic: pH question
Posted By: sterling18
Subject: pH question
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 4:36pm
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According to my logs it looks like I'm averaging 8.18 pH. Looks like in the evenings, even with a RDP fuge my low is 8.09 while my high is 8.20 during the day. I know it's not much of a swing but in the past my tanks would be running 8.27 to 8.35. Something worth tweaking or just leave it be? |
Replies:
Posted By: bugzme
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 4:41pm
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I wished my ph would hold that well. Right now I'm going between 7.95 and 8.3. Going to start dosing kalk tonight to try and stabilize it. ------------- Jeff 125 tank 50 gallon sump T-5 lighting Rum drinker, Carbon User I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!! |
Posted By: SGH360
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 4:45pm
| my ph goes 7.8 to 8.2 during the whole day. my dkh is at 10 |
Posted By: Shane H
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 4:57pm
| I wouldn't mess with your pH at all. Most would love to have those numbers. Way to go! |
Posted By: sterling18
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 5:14pm
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Awesome thanks. I top off with pickling lime if that makes a difference.  |
Posted By: bugzme
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 6:05pm
Yes it does! good Job  ------------- Jeff 125 tank 50 gallon sump T-5 lighting Rum drinker, Carbon User I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!! |
Posted By: SGH360
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 6:30pm
| whats pickling lime juice |
Posted By: bugzme
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 6:32pm
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Like Mrs. wages that you can buy in stores in the canning section. Same thing as kalk except cheaper ------------- Jeff 125 tank 50 gallon sump T-5 lighting Rum drinker, Carbon User I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!! |
Posted By: sterling18
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 6:38pm
Like Jeff said, it's calcium hydroxide (food grade). It's pH is like 10 if not higher. But it's great for maintaining your cal and alk. I use 1 teaspoon per gallon of water in my top off bucket. You can find it in the canning section in most supermarkets and walmart. |
bugzme wrote:Posted By: SGH360
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 6:38pm
| thats cool thx for the info |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 10:11pm
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pH of limewater is actually 12.4, or at least that is what you want. At this pH it has calcium of 900ppm, and if the pH drops to 12.2, only 0.2 pts, it has a pH of 300ppm. Trust me you want the highest pH possible. Kalk definitely helps with pH, keeping it high and stable, as long as it is dosed properly. I had one overdose that resulted in a snow storm and a loss of several corals. The main thing to remember if this ever happens is that pH of 9.0 is the magic number. Corals can pretty readily handle this, and it is better to let it come down naturally from 9.0 or below. If the pH is above 9.0 you should use CO2 or Carbonated Water to bring it down to 9.0 and then let it drop naturally. I was told this by Randy Holmes-Farley, and nobody can dispute that he is the ultimate reef chemistry guru. ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: sterling18
Date Posted: July 09 2010 at 10:17pm
Good to know. Tks. |
Posted By: omedman
Date Posted: July 11 2010 at 10:39pm
| Is there a way to add Pickling Lime to an auto top off system if it is hooked directly into a RO system, or do you just dose it with a drip method? |
Posted By: Mark Peterson
Date Posted: July 12 2010 at 5:22pm
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Yes, many people add lime to their auto top-off. Even better is to have the automatic system top off only at night. This helps keep pH up during the dark when it naturally falls due to the loss of photosynthesis. I have used a dosing pump on a timer to add during the night, just the right amount of Kalkwasser to top off daily evaporation. I had to tune it for the season, but since I was watching the system daily, farming coral, it was not a problem. The dosing pump took Kalkwasser from a few inches off the bottom of a 7 gal bucket of RO water with a cup of Lime. When the bucket was near empty, I would fill it with RO water which again dissolved some Lime in the bottom of the bucket. I would discard the residue of undissolved Lime after about 3 or 4 refills. Be sure to place the dosing line in a spot in the tank where the water moves fast and not near any coral. If I had wanted to make it more automatic, a solenoid could have been added after the timer to allow the dosing pump to run only until the tank was topped off to the right level. ------------- 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: sterling18
Date Posted: July 14 2010 at 11:04am
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Mark,
What about connecting a dosing pump connected to ato system. That should work. It supplies power to the dosing pump until the float switch is switched back from open to close.
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Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: July 14 2010 at 11:10am
Yes, you can do this. As far as I know this is what everyone has already been suggesting. It is a great way to dose kalk, in small doses throughout the day. Stability is key in a reef tank, and this is a great way to help with that. ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: P.Kapp
Date Posted: July 14 2010 at 11:27am
| if you add the pickling lime to a top off resevoir, will it settle on the bottom, or top? or does it mix in completely? i dont have one set up yet, but i was planning on having a 30 to 40 gal top off resevoir, and this sounds like a good idea. |
Posted By: downhill_biker
Date Posted: July 14 2010 at 12:07pm
If it were me I would use a reactor over a tank. The reactor will allow it to better mix and take less maintenance. I had a 55g drum for kalk for a while and it was difficult to mix and keep the ambient air/CO2 out, which drops the pH and the amount of calcium it adds. But yes, you add it to the topoff, it gets stirred up and the sediment settles to the bottom. What you are left with is a clear saturated limewater. Honestly you should not dose kalk without more research. It can EASILY nuke your tank, so make sure you have educated yourself before you attempt it. I would not even consider kalk without reading this entire article and having a firm understanding of it. If you have questions about the article feel free to ask and we will try to help. http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php - http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php ------------- Make sure you post your best pictures every month in our POTM forum. |
Posted By: bugzme
Date Posted: July 14 2010 at 5:46pm
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I'm having a kalk reactor made right now, Could I just run my ro/di water to it or should I run it through a dosing pump? ------------- Jeff 125 tank 50 gallon sump T-5 lighting Rum drinker, Carbon User I KNOW ROCKS THAT ARE YOUNGER THEN ME!! I AM A Realist! I write what I think!! |