Raising ph

[pascal32]

I'm continuing my battle with dinos. One of the recommended approaches is to raise PH to 8.5-8.6. I'm currently in the 7.9-8.1 range. I dose 80ml of 2 part rec#1 which is about the same as a gallon of saturated kalk.

Last night I set my dosing pumps to introduce 1/2 gallon of saturated kalk throughout the day - PH has not budged.

Any thought on how to raise ph? I've heard of adding A kalk slurry (1 cup ro/di along with 2 tablespoons of kalk- mix and pour)- seems scary!

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

Any idea what the CO2 is like in your tank/home?

 

[pascal32]

I did the outside air test (cup with airstone & pump for an hour) a couple months back and the API kit showed no PH change.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

Are you using a monitor?

 

[pascal32]

yes, I have an RKE with a PH probe.

I had a "low" spike which was when I was working on some wiring and somehow upset the sensor. I calibrated last month (new probe) - though I'm going to do it again tonight as the API PH kit says I'm a tad higher than indicated by the RKE.

here is a link to the last 24 hours of data: http://www.rowelab.com/AquaController/index.php?scope=last24&userid=blurry

 

[tmz]

Your ph 8.0 is fine for a reef tank.
Raising it via buffers/alkalinity supplements including heavy kalk dosing will raise the alkalinity which could be harmful to some corals. As you press toward 8.5 or 8.6 you may also see a biotic precipitation which will drop alk and calcium So you need to track that too.
While some have reported success with high ph for dino elimination the mechanisms for that is unclear. I have been able to eliminate them with persistent manual removal via vacuuming them up with a turkey baster every few days for a couple of weeks. Keeping nutrient, ie organics ( detritus buildup etc) nitrogeneous waste(ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphorous under control seems to help them wane as well. O tds replacement water is a good idea too.

If you are set on the idea of raising ph to those borderline levels , kalk is probably the most efficient way to do it.