ph issue

[james1990]

With the addition of my new Apex (yes im bragging) I have noticed a rather large swing in PH from day to night. Im seeing lows of 7.4 in the early dusk and highs of 8.3

is there anything I can do to keep this more stable? i already run my fuge LEDs during the night as well as dose 2 part through a dosing pump.

thanks

 

[lnevo]

Have you calibrated your probe?

 

[james1990]

Yes per instructions. I have the lab grade probe as well


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2

 

[lnevo]

From your last thread regarding your light cycle, i would try lengthening your main light cycle. And run the fuge light opposite the main light, not just at night.

 

[Boomer]

Jim

You have high CO2 issues. And do per inevo ^ or us a night kalk drip.

 

[james1990]

Ok,

I just got my BRS kalk in the mail and im ready to put it into action. The system is only around 40 gallons total.

my issue is that my top off only turns on maybe twice a day, and I do not want to use it with kalk.

Should I just add it to a 5 gallon container and drip it via gravity? Or should I use a spare outlet on my Bubble Magus dosing pump? im nervous about failures. I need to get this going with my apex.

Should I keep a small powerhead in the jug and turn it on for a few seconds once a day? Also, should I dose 24/7 or at night only?

 

[Boomer]

Your pH will be higher during the day vs night, so during the night.

Adding to container and using a drip is fine if that works for you. Try to keep it covered from room air. No need to stir / add air / powerhead, once mixed. It will just bring in more CO2, which is self defeating.

 

[Djbetterly]

I had the same issue. I bought a luft pump, put it inside a tupperware container with an inlet and outlet hose. Inlet hose draws from outside, and outlet goes into a co2 scrubber before going into skimmer intake. The pump is adjustable to control amount of air going into skimmer.

This has worked like a charm for me! Ph no longer drops below 8.1. Let me know if you want pictures.

I also built an adjustable air pump that has incredible suction and output, but for my apartment its a bit noisy so I haven't put it into play yet. I've been thinking about hooking it up and plugging it into the apex to have it turned on when the pH changes. Not sure yet though...

 

[Boomer]

Yes, Dj CO2 scrubbers work nice, even if the air is inside air. Usually outside air is better. It depends on the the room air CO2. It is kinda catch-22. Using inside air, with higher CO2, depletes the Kalk media faster but at the same time lowers the inside air CO2, which reduces the CO2 from entering tank water. If you now have ouside air you reduce the CO2 going through the skimmer but high room air CO2 is not reduced and enters the tank water but the Kalk is depleted less. You can also run air into a screw lid container with dissolved Sodium hydroxide, were the air bubbles through the SH solution, the air rise through the solution to the top of the container and air goes through the outlet right under the lid, which is CO2 free.