You want higher pH for faster coral growth? This is what worked for me.
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- Опубликовано: 3 окт 2023
- Come check out all the strategies I tested in an attempt to raise my very low pH for my current basement reef tank. I summarize in detail each approach and the effect on pH that I observed. In summary, a multi-faceted strategy was required to achieve the elevated pH range I desired. I honestly couldn't believe how much my alkalinity consumption increased after raising my pH...
Link to instagram: / zburnsreefing 
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Reefers, just an update...I am 4 weeks in with the new aquaforest c02 scrubber and the media appears to be about halfway exhausted (based on color change). More importantly, my ph performance from the reactor is still excellent, after 4 weeks of use without a media change. I am pretty pleased, as my prior reactor would exhaust the media in roughly 7-10 days. I do think the water reservoir beneath the scrubber is useful and allowing the media to last longer. I will be changing out the aquaforest media with the basic BRS stuff in a few weeks and will watch to see if performance changes at all...
Mine hits 8.42 day and 8.21 at night. Biggest jump I ever experienced was getting a par meter, realizing the spectrum I was using was starving coral of light. Adjusted to 415-430par at the top zone, 200-250 middle and 150-180 sandbed. My pH went up drastically .2-.3 ish. Also, my alkalinity/calcium supplements needed to be increased by 40% to keep up with consumption. Put simply, increased light intensity = more photosynthesis (natural c02 scrubber) = increased alk uptake. I can tell you my corals have never looked better! LPS, SPS, and soft coral all look amazing now and are growing fast.
Those are absolutely perfect ph readings…I wish I could get there!
Ooooh I've waiting for someone to confirm of this scrubber truly increases the lifespan of the media while providing the same increase! Definitely looking forward to your feedback.
Great video man! I can highly recommend a recirculating scrubber though as it’s much more effective and efficient. I get about 3-4 months out of the media and if I just let it run my PH peaks at around 8.7 with a low of 8.5 lol. This will of course also depend on how the main introduction of co2 occurs. If your issue is ambient ph it might not be as effective like in my example since my main issue was co2 production happening inside the tank.
The risks can fairly easily be mitigated with a float switch in the skimmer cup :)
@viking_reefing thank you for chiming in! That is an incredible PH you are getting!! Yes, I do want to experiment with a recirculating design, just having quite executed on it yet. I've recently added kalk to the equation and now my ph consistently is well above 8.3, so I am feeling pretty good about things. We'll see how things go though as the cooler weather is approaching and the house will be more closed up.
@@zburnreefing kalk is also a great option as it both saves on alk/ca additions as well as raises ph. I’ve used it for over two decades and it’s great. However, since I don’t seem to need it for oh these days I actually took my reactor offline to reduce the complexity of the system….more stuff to maintain and all that.
Nice video. Passed the same research about ph lately. Best results I had was when I passed the Output of skimmer through the scrubber. This resulted 8.2-8.3 ph throughout the day, and very long lasting scrubber media. Give it a try!
Thanks for sharing!
Try the chummingham reef method. Fan on the surface of the tank increases evaporation and replace the water with kalkwasser at full saturation.
My ph was 8.15-7.8 with a co2 scrubber with .5 gallon evaporation a day . now I evaporate 1.5 gallons and my ph is 8.10 low with 8.45-8.5 high ph.
Soda lime will change color, then eventually fade back to white if left to sit or water is added. The water dish is preventing the color change, but not extending the life. The water doesn’t do much other than alter the color IMO. It gets spent just as quickly, but doesn’t show the color change anymore. If you research this in the context of anesthesia (it’s primary use) it’s well documented. Personally, I don’t think it has any business on a reef tank unless you’re willing to replace it weekly. Kalkwasser and/or Sodium Hydroxide is much more effective and consistent.
Thanks for sharing your insights. I am at 2 weeks now since setting up the newer scrubber and my pH remains elevated. I hit 8.29 last night. Previously I went 7 days before pH dropped. I got 10 days of sustained performance when running fresh air from outside through the scrubber. I see some color change on bottom 1/5 of this new scrubber, but more importantly, I am getting sustained pH performance that has lasted longer than my other scrubber/approach. We'll see how things go, but I anticipate I will be getting at least a month of life out of the media. Your belief that the water doesn't do anything beyond prevent color change is interesting. That would negate the mechanism for why a recirculating c02 scrubber performs so well. However, I only care about results at this point. We'll see how things go over the next two weeks. Kalkwasser is great for sure, I may add it to my arsenal, but may only consider that option if I want to get another dosing pump online and can fit a reservoir somewhere. I've done kalk in the past and it worked well, just not a fan of a stirrer or running it through my ATO.
Good helping us I can’t believe how much CO2 scrubbers media only last that long. I think Alk and fresh air I’m in the process of setup in a basement myself I didn’t realize it would affect my ph I’m stuck around 7.6 almost all day but with alk it would spike ?? AF has I think some great reef gear but the Reef Tanks are sweeter
I use zlements P.H plus. It's a 2 part with trace elements. Not sure if it is available in the U.S., though. My lowest P.H reading is 8.37 at night time and rises to 8.50 during daytime. I run a stable DKH at 8.5. PO4 sits at 0.04 and nitrates at 5ppm. I absolutely love the zlements 2 part though it's the best I've ever used by far.
That’s pretty incredible!
Enjoyed the video. I know your dosing two part. Do you/would you dose kalkwasser to help with ph ?
Thanks @jtdr2023! Yes, definitely. I am actually considering adding kalkwasser with my 2 part to further help boost ph. Will need to cut back on 2 part once kalk is online, but nothing wrong with dosing both!
Have you ever tried crushed coral? I tried it and it helpful.
I actually just added a little bit a few days ago to my current sand bed. I cranked up the flow and got tired of the bare spots. Not sure I added enough to help stabilize ph, but will keep an eye on it.
My ph is 8.5 at it Lowest and 8.8 at it highest. I have tester with multiple ph probee and test kits all the same. I use a co2 schubber, kalkwasser and reef zlmente phplus
Wow that is high!!! No negative effects above 8.6 for you?
What about PH fluctuation? Is it better with low or high fluctuations?
That topic has a mix of opinions. Most would argue to keep alkalinity stable and let pH fluctuate. I tend to agree. Some adjust their dosing to flatten the pH curve, but as a result alkalinity becomes less stable. I have seen no negative effects from pH fluctuating. That doesn’t mean I wouldn’t work towards stabilizing it, but just not at the expense of a stable alkalinity. For example, a refugium on reverse light cycle would help some. In the end, I’d shoot for a stable alk, and then do your best to get pH up, but don’t stress over pH swings.
Any feedback on the how long the media lasts?
I'm at 16 days since the scrubber went online. 1/5th of the media has turned purple. pH remains elevated and performance looks good! Time will tell, but I'd predict I will get good month of performance out of this new scrubber. Will update again next week!
@@zburnreefing how large is your tank again?
@@queencityreefs 90 gallon total volume including sump
@@zburnreefing thanks bud
What’s the verdict on this new scrubber??
Hi there, I really like it and am still running it. The water reservoir allows me to get about 4-5 weeks out of the media before it needs to be swapped out.
@@zburnreefing good to know. Are you running this in random with the regular reactor or running it on its own?
@@MikeLemming Just running it alone. I have another BRS scrubber, I suppose I could try two in tandem, but this seems to be doing the trick and maintenance/media swap is quick.
@@zburnreefing thank man. I’m having a hard time with ph, maybe I’ll give this a try!