Ph problem

[JWR]

I agree it isn't that difficult. I have been running the same reactor on 2 different tanks for about 3 years and never had a problem with it before. Maybe just luckey but it always worked well. I can't figure what has changed which is why it's a bit perplexing. With the new settings on the reactor, there dosn't seem to be any difference in alk (6.3). The ph is now in the higher end of the low range but still too low (7.8). It is a bit hard to tell because the ph is still in that low range though it may have crept up a bit. I am going to do a 10% water change and dose with some reef buffer to try and get this under control and maybe a new starting point. Any thoughts or ideas appreciated. Jim

[swissgaurd]

before you add reef buffer,crack the window open a bit ,i bet your ph rises,
or just another thought.where is your effluent dripping,maybe if you can move it closer to the output of the skimmer.the turbulance from the skimmer will help dissolve the CO2 .personally im not a big fan of the reef buffer
some people run the air input to the skimmer from outside and theyve had great success,also alot depends how well there home is sealed,people with new homes sometimes have this problem

vic

[Darryl_V]

to be honest darryl its really not that hard,i dont use a controller,which makes it even more complicated some say.
i think theres alot of good things that comes out of a little stone when dissolved with CO2 ,i dont think chemicals can come close to a mineral thats in a stone,its not just calcium.

by stone i mean crushed coral.
im not saying dosing doesnt work, your system is a good example of dosing,very nice indeed.

vic

I ran a calcium reactor and personally had problems and didnt like it. Although I will be the first to admit it was a poorly made one. I think if you have a good calcium reactor and it works for you, than go for it. Lots of people have success with different methods of major element replenishment.

As for your comment about dissolving coral skeleton to put back all the elements lost......the logic is sound and I often wonder the same thing myself. How ever after running raw chemicals for quite some time with success I can't see what I would be missing.

before you add reef buffer,crack the window open a bit ,i bet your ph rises,
or just another thought.where is your effluent dripping,maybe if you can move it closer to the output of the skimmer.the turbulance from the skimmer will help dissolve the CO2 .personally im not a big fan of the reef buffer
some people run the air input to the skimmer from outside and theyve had great success,also alot depends how well there home is sealed,people with new homes sometimes have this problem

vic

Dissolved oxygen and alkalinity are the two biggest players in what our pH levels will be......if your dissolved oxygen and alkalinity are good than its pretty safe to say you don't have to worry about pH . If you have a problem with pH you should be looking at these two things.

I think you have drags on dissolved oxygen...your calcium reactor (adding CO2 and driving down O2) and bio-pellets. The bacteria in bio-pellets can also deplete some oxygen from your system, especially in the initially phases.

Adding buffer to raise your pH will also raise your alkalinity...which you may or may not want. But be careful not to get alk and ca out of balance too much. Kalk is a better solution because it is a balanced additive and raises both ca and alk while positively affecting your pH .

[swissgaurd]

thanks for the explanation darryl
bang on

vic

[JWR]

No worries about this house being sealed too tight. lol . The window beside the aquarium is usually cracked open this time of year anyway - but not today, it's snowing. I have already started a slow drip of buffer solution. This is probably the first chemicals I have added other than Kalk and salt in 2 years. There are some signs of stress so I want to put the bandaid on it to relieve the stress and then keep trying to get to the root of the problem. I have really quantified the Ca reactor now as opposed to just tweeking it as I felt it needed before. I think that is a good start. Once I get the dkh and ph back into better parameters I will continue to adjust unless I can find another cause.

The effluent is already dripping right beside the skimmer. It then goes through the refrugium before going down to the return pump. I have basicly doubled the effluent flow but increased the ph from 6.5 to 7. The resulting effluent still has 94% the amount of Ca and therefore I would assume proportionally the same amount of buffer materials. So I figure that the actual amount of Ca and Buffers has increased by 88% from the reactor. So now I am trying to get back to normal dkh levels through the addition of the extra buffers and then hope that the reactor will keep it there. I figure if that works then the ph should sort itself out. Also still running the kalk reactor. Thats my theory anyway. Any thoughts or comments are certanly welcome.

[Darryl_V]

sounds like you know what you are doing, you just need to get all your ducks to line up in a row.

Good luck.

[JWR]

Thanks for the vote of confidence!! Your note on the oxygen was a bit of a different angle so I cleaned out a couple of hanfuls of green algae tha was growing around the macros in the sump . Hope it helps. I have an oxygen test kit on the way. Again thanks for your input. Jim