chat response

[walla2butterfly]

< it's typical for pH to fluctuate over 24 hrs > during the day, photosynthesis consumes CO2, driving pH up at night that CO2 consumption slows, and plain old respiration takes over generating CO2 >

So, in our tanks. Would the amount of plant life effect the pH, because of photosynthesis? Or what we have so minute that it wouldnt effect it that much? Or in other words; Can we look at our plant life as playing a significant role in pH or would we really need some large quanities? Hope I got what I was asking across
Tami

 

[java1]

plants can definitely play a large role in pH control. in fact, many aquarists set up their refugiums on a reverse-photoperiod, i.e. lights on in the fuge at night while lights are off in the main tank. this can serve to keep pH somewhat constant throughout a 24 hour period.

 

[walla2butterfly]

Hi
was just reading a post somewhere else, they said they ran their skimmer at night for the oxygenation. Not real sure about that, part of me says yea okay another says it isnt doing anything for the pH
But yea I am familar with people running lights at night for pH, others to hold an even temp

 

[wade1]

Strong skimming equilibrates the water column with room air concentrations - in other words, it tries to match your tank's CO2 and O2 and N2 levels to surrounding air. Water holds a great deal less O2 though. So in effect, the skimmer always maintains higher O2 and lower CO2 (in heavily populated tanks, although in well sealed houses this becomes problematic).

When teaching folks about setting up aquariums, I always press them to avoid planted refugiums (technically algal scrubbers), at least initially. It is better to understand the natural fluctuations before causing the shifts to become harsher. I've seen tanks that swing from 8.3 pH during the day to 7.8 pH at night due to heavy macro algae loads. The fish don't care much, but it reduces coral coloration and allows for more algal growth.

 

[walla2butterfly]

um Okay. Personally I choose not to use a skimmer. But I havent gotten heavy in to corals. ( mainly because of lighting) So, once you understand your tanks fluctuations, then add it slowly???? And then what. Or is this something that will be discussed later. I plan on setting up a new tank soon but not before this course is over with and I planned on putting a refugium in the sump. Mostly for water quality purposes and a safe place for copipods to hang out.
Tami

 

[wade1]

I imagine Jason will do a pretty good job of covering the topic of filtration as predominated by bacteria vs mechanical. It comes down to an issue of nutrient load and conversion. If you don't have your questions covered during the course, please ask!

A short answer is: the specific species of corals you want to keep may do well without mechanical filtration. LPS and corrilomorphs (mushrooms) do very well as they are lagoonal in nature. SPS and brightly colored corals do fairly poorly (the exception being Montipora and Porites species that seem to do fairly well).

 

[walla2butterfly]

HI Jason,
Okay about the equilibration,
Why do I want the water colum CO2, O2, and N2 the same as the surrounding air? and why do well sealed houses problematic
(only 5 weeks to go, got to get all my questions in LOL)
Tami

 

[java1]

Sealed up houses, like in wintertime in cold climates, can accumulate CO2 from the inhabitants. This can lead to an increase in dissolved CO2 in your tank, driving pH down.

Natural seawater at typical reef-depth is very well equilibrated with atmospheric gas concentrations from waves and currents, and marine inhabitants have grown accustomed to the chemical makeup which includes these dissolved gases. So it's of chemical and biological importance to keep your tank water approximately equilibrated with the atmosphere.

 

[walla2butterfly]

Hi Jason,
So can we accomblish this with lots of water flow or do you need a skimmer to do that? Or did I assume that you meant skimmer when you stated "skimming" earlier?
Tami

 

[java1]

A good amount of flow, with surface agitation, i.e. a powerhead near the surface, is perfectly fine.