Pre-warning. This video is HUGE. Huge in terms of the length of the video, as well as the enormous amount of information that it contains! You have been warned!

In true 2020 fashion, things that we thought were conventional, tried and true methods, are being overturned and new thoughts and approaches are coming about in our industry.

If you have been in the hobby for any time at all, you’ve heard people warn against chasing the “perfect pH,” that as long as you are within acceptable numbers, you are ok. But what about those that seek enlightenment in keeping water, and are students of achieving the ultimate ionic balance in our aquariums… or those that suffer chronically low pH tap water (Florida residents, I am talking about us) are we content with just ok? Can we do anything else? Can it be/get better?

Conventional ways of raising pH are using: a CO2 scrubber, a kalkwasser, and a reverse photoperiod with algae, but sometimes, it’s simply not enough. Chris Meckley of ACI Aquaculture has been experimenting with something far more dangerous and something that you wouldn’t ever think to ever add to your aquarium.

He says that this is a game changer, both for him and for his farm. While we do not recommend this for any home aquarists, due to the extremely caustic nature of the product, I wanted to let you guys know what’s being used in the front lines, and I am very happy to see people experimenting to develop systems to raise a tank’s pH to natural seawater levels, and keep it up there.