Low PH after adding CA reactor

ScallopKing

ScallopKing

New member
I need some help to figure this out. I think I know how to fix this but I'm open to any other suggestions.

The problem is that since adding my CA reactor my PH level has dropped and doesn't get very high anymore. I'm running 8.0 during the day and about 7.7 -> 7.8 during the night.

I've added in a refugium recently and run the light on an alternate schedule for the main tank. I think that should help.

I also have the window open next to the tank, for CO2 buildup, but the heat doesn't help recently so I can't have it open very much or any at all sometimes.

I was thinking about running tubing from the outside straight into my skimmer. This would help, right? Draw fresh air into the tank?

I used to drip kalk but removed since adding the CA reactor. Should I put it back in and drip at night? Would this help?

Is there anyway other way that I can raise it, or are the levels not really that bad and should I just leave it be?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks, Sean.
 
Hi Sean,
I had the same problem in my 180. I found that dripping kalk was the solution. The kalk helps adsorb the excess CO2 and boosts your pH. After 4 days of dosing the pH climbed from 8.0 during the day to 8.15-8.2. It also drops much less at night. At first I used a kalk slurry added all at once. It fixed the problem but I had to do it every day. Then I started dripping kalk again, and no more problems. HTH.
 
Jay,

You dose kalk 24/7 then, and how much? Is this part of your top-off routine? How is your ALK and CA affected by running kalk and the reactor? Did you tune down the reactor to account for the additional kalk supplement? This info will help alot.

Thanks, Sean.
 
I run both a kalk reactor as well as a calcium reactor. I have both on timers and my calcium reactor turns off at 12:00am and back on at 6:00am I then have my kalk reactor turn on at 6:00pm to top off.

I'm at 8 at night and 8.2/8.3 during the day.
 
I'm getting my reactor soon and usually people do both. Kalk will help stabilize your alk and Ph, while the reactor helps maintain teh CA levels. Do both, kalk dripping is extremely easy to setup
 
what is your drip rate from your reactor?

i maintain my 300 gallon tank with a ph of 8.1 and a Ca level of 400-425. I only use a Ca reactor and a 24 hour lighted fuge.
 
lol no scallop king...


but to you yinger

you really dont need both a Ca and kalk reactor imo thats just more work...
 
haha, yeh, I guess you dont' really need it if you have your pH under control, but it's safer to do so. and plus its a simple solution and cheap too since you just dump it in the top off
 
I do dose kalk 24/7. I have an liquid level controller from Spectrapure which takes care of most of the top off, but the kalk drips at a very slow rate on top of that. I figure the kalk does add some calc and alk though it's not appeciable. I'm not dosing the kalk at a very concentrated level. 2 gallons usually lasts me 2 days and I use a couple of teaspoons on a 180. It's a fairly new tank, so I'm still working on dialing in the calc. reactor perfectly.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7827154#post7827154 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Bebo77
what is your drip rate from your reactor?

i maintain my 300 gallon tank with a ph of 8.1 and a Ca level of 400-425. I only use a Ca reactor and a 24 hour lighted fuge.
Click to expand...

The effluent drip is 2 per second, the CO2 runs on a controller and is set at 6.5 so the ph levels swings from 6.5 to 6.6 and runs about 1.5 drips per second. What do you think about my effluent rate? Would you recommend that I run my fuge light 24/7?

I just calibrated my PH meter for my main tank and it's a little higher but the lights just turned off. I'll see how it is in the morning. I'm also going to check my ca and alk levels tomorrow and post where they're at.

Thanks Bebo! Sean.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7827230#post7827230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Yinger
haha, yeh, I guess you dont' really need it if you have your pH under control, but it's safer to do so. and plus its a simple solution and cheap too since you just dump it in the top off
Click to expand...

Yinger, this is what I was thinking of doing. Switch back to kalk topoff using my LM3, but should I add one or two teaspoons of kalk per gallon or less maybe? Not quite sure what to do. Thanks!
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7830263#post7830263 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ScallopKing
The effluent drip is 2 per second, the CO2 runs on a controller and is set at 6.5 so the ph levels swings from 6.5 to 6.6 and runs about 1.5 drips per second. What do you think about my effluent rate? Would you recommend that I run my fuge light 24/7?

I just calibrated my PH meter for my main tank and it's a little higher but the lights just turned off. I'll see how it is in the morning. I'm also going to check my ca and alk levels tomorrow and post where they're at.

Thanks Bebo! Sean.
Click to expand...

yeah run your fuge light 24/7 and post your ca results....
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7830283#post7830283 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ScallopKing
Yinger, this is what I was thinking of doing. Switch back to kalk topoff using my LM3, but should I add one or two teaspoons of kalk per gallon or less maybe? Not quite sure what to do. Thanks!
Click to expand...

right now i'm just using 1 teaspoon per gallon. Its been keeping my CA at 425 and my alk at around 8.5. I don't have any big colonies right now, but there are quite a bit of sps frags and a couple small colonies.
 
Hey Sean,
I run my top off thru a kalk reactor to counteract the ph depression of the ca reactor....that amounts to about 2 gallons/day at my evaporation rate. Not only does the kalk help raise the ph, it supplements ca/alk so I don't have to drive my ca reactor as hard.

I also run a fuge on a reverse photo cycle.

Before this current hot weather, my low ph was 8.1 and my high was 8.2+. But since we've been running the AC 24/7, my ph is depressed by 0.1 due to house being sealed up and the build up of CO2. It's amazing what opening up the windows will do to raise your ph. Hope that helps..
 
I listened to Gabriel from day 1. KEEP UP WITH THE WATER CHANGES!! and I never had a ph problem. I manually dose calcium and I have everything really stable.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7832704#post7832704 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by My F1sh R D34D!
I listened to Gabriel from day 1. KEEP UP WITH THE WATER CHANGES!! and I never had a ph problem. I manually dose calcium and I have everything really stable.
Click to expand...

Sam, what is your water change routine? Sean.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7830403#post7830403 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by glaudds
Hey Sean,
I run my top off thru a kalk reactor to counteract the ph depression of the ca reactor....that amounts to about 2 gallons/day at my evaporation rate. Not only does the kalk help raise the ph, it supplements ca/alk so I don't have to drive my ca reactor as hard.

I also run a fuge on a reverse photo cycle.

Before this current hot weather, my low ph was 8.1 and my high was 8.2+. But since we've been running the AC 24/7, my ph is depressed by 0.1 due to house being sealed up and the build up of CO2. It's amazing what opening up the windows will do to raise your ph. Hope that helps..
Click to expand...

That helps a lot glaudds. I have the same problem at my house that's why I keep the window open next to my tank. It does help some but I need to open more. Too hot for that though!

Thanks, Sean.
 
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