Raising Ph

reef keeper

Super Active Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Location
Hamilton, Ontario
ive just started running a calcium reactor, and from everything I've read, the ph in the tank will go down. Mr saltwater tank says to never chase ph, so I'm double checking.

My alk is through the roof from over dosing, so I'm going to do a water change to try to bring it down.

I do use Kaliwasser in my ATO, so that might keep the ph up. Just don't want to screw my tank up. It's just getting good lol

Any help or anecdotal experiences would be great
 

scubasteve

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 4, 2014
Location
Cambridge, Ontario
if your having trouble maintaining ph you probably have an imbalanced carbonate/bicarbonate ratio. for the most part if cal and alk are where they should be ph should be perfect if not read into carbonate /bicarbonate ratios. i know aqua vitro adds potassium to help ionically balance your sytem with their regiment for ph control
 

scubasteve

Distinguished Member
Joined
May 4, 2014
Location
Cambridge, Ontario
@scubasteve I feel like you should be a science teacher sometimes the stuff you know man ... you would make a great teacher my friend...

hours of reading lol i like to learn about things that interest me. I just learn the basics then i can understand the really advanced stuff then all the studies they do start to make sense instead of endless numbers and ratios.
 

AdInfinitum

Super Active Member
Joined
Jan 12, 2012
Location
Thorndale, Ontario
ive just started running a calcium reactor, and from everything I've read, the ph in the tank will go down. Mr saltwater tank says to never chase ph, so I'm double checking.

My alk is through the roof from over dosing, so I'm going to do a water change to try to bring it down.

I do use Kaliwasser in my ATO, so that might keep the ph up. Just don't want to screw my tank up. It's just getting good lol

Any help or anecdotal experiences would be great

Lots of people have run calcium reactors for a long time, some using Kalk to mitigate the bump down in ph and some not testing or caring...lol and as long as the Ca and Alk was dialed had great results.

Co2 affects the carbonic acid equilibrium and not the true buffering capacity of your system. I agree not a number to ever chase. Unless your system is actually sealed and starving for oxygen, the carbonic acid ph bump is a ghost.

Conversely availability of dissolved CO2 is, in most natural near surface environments, the primary limiting factor on the rate of photosynthesis rather than the availability of light.
 

BigReefer

Super Active Member
Joined
Jun 1, 2011
Location
London, Ontario
cant you use that product called balance from aquavitro ???? it says it raises your ph

Reef Products
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balance™
  • balances the carbonate buffer system ratio
  • raises pH without affecting calcium and alkalinity
  • hydroxide blend
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Description
A frequent occurrence in reef systems is low pH, while calcium and alkalinity are at optimal levels. Raise one and the others may fall. One of the primary reasons for this is an improper carbonate/bicarbonate ratio. The buffer ratio changes as a natural consequence of the buffer's ability to counteract acidifying sources such as organic acids (produced naturally from waste) or introduced from non-pH controlled husbandry products. In this case, adding more buffer would unnecessarily result in a rise in alkalinity and a drop in calcium. The first product of its kind, balance™ ends this see-saw effect. It resets this ratio by converting bicarbonate into carbonate in order to reassert a higher pH without affecting calcium level.

balance™ is an optimized blend of sodium and potassium hydroxides with a NSW ratio (27:1) of sodium to potassium to avoid ionic imbalance with long term use.

aquavitro offers other solutions designed to address the unique challenge of raising pH in a reef environment. ions™ addresses the problem of low magnesium which is a cause of low buffering pK and pH. eight.four™ addresses deficiencies in pK found in competing products by providing a properly balanced (carbonate/bicarbonate) buffer system.

Directions
balance™ is intended to be used to raise pH when all other parameters (alkalinity, calcium, magnesium) are at optimal levels, but pH is still low. The amount of balance™ needed to raise pH to the desired level will vary widely, depending upon the buffering capacity and quality of your tank water. For reference purposes only, one inner cap (7 ml) will raise 75 L (20 gallons*) of salt water by about 0.1 pH units.

Add balance™ in small increments, and check pH after at least 3 minutes before adding additional increments.

balance™ can be used daily and within minutes of calcification™, eight.four™, and ions™

Note: The aquavitro cap offers multiple dosing solutions depending on the size of your system. Each inner cap thread is approximately 2 mL. The inner cap contains 7 mL, while the outer ring contains 28 mL (35 mL when both are filled to the level of the inner cap.) When filled to the top, the cap contains 49 mL.

Use Seachem's MultiTest™: Marine pH & Alkalinity kit to check pH.
 

reef keeper

Super Active Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2014
Location
Hamilton, Ontario
Lots of people have run calcium reactors for a long time, some using Kalk to mitigate the bump down in ph and some not testing or caring...lol and as long as the Ca and Alk was dialed had great results.

Co2 affects the carbonic acid equilibrium and not the true buffering capacity of your system. I agree not a number to ever chase. Unless your system is actually sealed and starving for oxygen, the carbonic acid ph bump is a ghost.

Conversely availability of dissolved CO2 is, in most natural near surface environments, the primary limiting factor on the rate of photosynthesis rather than the availability of light.

Turns out I tested in the effluent from the reactor..... DUH

THE effluent is going into my most turbulent part of my sump, so by the time it hits the tank the co2 should be bled off.

That there was some dang fancy science talkin.
 

Jewel

Guest
Joined
Oct 11, 2011
Location
Wingham Ontario
It's true don't chase the PH, I think the Calcium reactor is the way to go, It's old school but it works if it's set up properly. My PH with the reactor was always a bit low but the balance of Alk and Calcium were dead on. Enjoy
 
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