PH with calcium reactor

[lrasser]

I've never been someone to chase PH but after recently setting up a calcium reactor my PH has been extremely low. This morning I woke up to email alerts of 7.68. This is not an air intake CO2 issue since i run soda lime attached to my skimmer (live in a new home that's completely sealed) to combat that issue. I've been running 7.8-8.0 since I started using it which I was fine with me but it seems to be creeping a little lower each day.

I know I can run kalk (and have some) but would prefer not to since I'm almost done dialing it in and don't want to start over. I'm also not a huge fan of what kalk can do if over dosed since I would be using my ATO to administer it if needed.

For those of you running calcium reactors what is your PH at? Everything I research gives me different answers so Id like to hear from those of you that have been successful With SPS and reactor

Thanks!

 

[JBNY]

I run my reactor pH at 6.55

I think that you will see the 7.8-7.9 as the lowest tank number as pretty common if you run a reactor with nothing to combat the low effluent pH.

If it were me I would double check the pH probe, and then make sure the effluent is being dispensed in an area of high flow.

 

[lrasser]

Thanks Joe. I have re-calibrated it. It will mainly stay between 7.8 - 8.0 but i'm noticing a dip to 7.7 at times. When should I get to the point of worrying? I currently have the APEX set to shut down the CO2 for anything lower then 7.7. Do you run kalk to keep the PH higher? Will there be a noticeable growth difference in SPS with the lower PH?

 

[MIKE NY]

My reactors effluent Ph is 6.7, but this # will vary depending on the needs of each tank. It flows into a cup with a PH probe in it so I can constantly monitor the reactor. I also run kalk in my ATO which helps both raise the tanks PH which will vary from 7.8-8.1 and aids the reactor. Also by raising the effluent drip higher from the water will give alittle more air contact time which may help raise the PH before entering the water.

 

[LongIslandAndy]

Hi Larry

I have been averaging 7.81 to 8.24 for about 6 months on the Apex chart and have decent growth and nice color. I had a difficult time dialing in the alk in the beginning and I am nervous adding Kalk in a drip since my alk is now pretty solid. I would also be interested in seeing if the higher PH will increase growth

 

[lrasser]

I have my APEX controlling the effluent PH at about 6.6 right now. I'm with Andy. It was a pain to get dialed in and I've had a bad experience with Kalk in the past. I still have a large jug sitting in the basement since that day. If the kalk would really make a difference I would start over and readjust. I would try going with 1/2 tsp per gallon in the ATO which would give a slight boost in PH and also allow me to back off the reactor slightly as well which should also bump PH. This would basically be my last resort. If I can maintain 7.8-8.0 and have good growth without any ill effects I would be happier not using the kalk.

 

[lrasser]

So I woke up this morning to 7.72 again. This seems to be the exact low every day. Should I worry about this? All other level are good:

Alk 9.07
Cal 460
Mag 1400
Reactor 150ml/min PH 6.6

My other thought was to lower the PH in the reactor so I could lower the flow from the reactor. Not sure if that would be counter productive but it's the next thing on my list to try.

 

[JBNY]

Where are you taking that reactor reading? For how hard you are pushing that reactor, I think that the low pH is probably fine. I am assuming that you have a ton of coral in that tank, yes? If not something is not right. The first chamber of my reactor is at a pH of 6.55 with effluent of .035ml/min and if I were not running an algae reactor at night to combat low pH my tank would drop to around 7.9

If it were me I would run kalk, I have been using kalk with a reactor for about 12 years and I have never had a problem, if you have an Apex, just set it to turn off the kalk and alert you if the pH ever goes above 8.6 and you should be fine.

 

[JBNY]

oops I meant to write that my effluent is at 35ml/min.

 

[lrasser]

I'm reading the effluent PH coming out of the first chamber (6.6) It's 6.8 from the second chamber. It's a minical reactor so with the smaller chamber it seems I have to push it a little harder. I do have a decent coral stock in the tank and there all growing like weeds. That's one of the reason I went over to a reactor.

Are you running the Kalk through your ATO? How much kalk are you runnning? I go through over a gallon a day of top off. Maybe I'll just try 1/2 tsp/gal in my ATO to see if that balances things off a little.

 

[JBNY]

I go through about 3-5 gallons of topoff a day. I generally just put all my topoff through my kalk reactor. I dump about a cup in the kalk reactor and that lasts about 3-4 weeks. I have my kalk recator set to stir up the mix 2 times a day for 5mins each time. I have a Nilson reactor so it uses a stir bar to mix the kalk.

If you have never used kalk before, I can understand your being hesitant. Once you get used to it, I think it is i pretty easy to use.

 

[greg 45]

You can run a degassing chamber after the reactor. I would recalibrate probe's to make sure they are reading properly .Check them in the proper solution for your system .

 

[vio]

I think you got 2 problems
#1 Calcium Reactor
Try to adjust the effluent, there is a nice " sweet point" when is about to drip and run" around 90 ml/min. then live for one day , then check ALK. if still 9 dkh try to lower the bubble. Even if you got 8 dkH is just fine, personally i prefer low Alk.

#2 You, said (live in a new home that's completely sealed) that may be a problem.
Even if you run Soda Lime ( before to Protein Skimmer) that NOT mean you got more O2, try to use a pump to move the water to the surface , let the tank to breathe. Vent the room for few hours, let the fresh coming in.

I got CO2 meter, when i got my tank at home, i got 650 ppm on basement (because is NOT perfect seal) on my bedroom i got 1100 ppm, when my dog come next to me , alarm start at 1200 ppm, my bedroom is perfect seal, new windows, i seal even the floor , before i install the wood parked, double wall insulation ( were i got drive way) lots of cold air coming on winter to that side, double ceiling , to stop cold air from attic. When is completely seal, that NOT mean is completely healthy. Now i got my tank at work , i got 430 ppm CO2 inside the shop. Sound crazy, but that what it is, lock of CO2 inside the room , may be a problem.

 

[vio]

Check this.........

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/

 

[lrasser]

I've re-calibrated the probes already and they are reading correctly. The soda lime has a great impact on my C02 issues with everything being sealed. When I was dosing my PH was 8.0-8.3 and never went below 8.0 so this is a reactor setup issue. A few hours ago i changed my reactor effluent from 150 to 54 and PH from 6.6 to 6.4 thus reducing the C02 being pumped in the sump (dripping from a high area into high flow) and increasing the DKH output to compensate. In just the past few hours my PH has risen to 8.06 which is a great sign. I'll have to see how things look in the morning.

 

[lrasser]

So the adjustment I made seems to have done the trick so far. I woke up today to a PH of 7.85. and my alk had only ropped 9.02 to 8.68 in 24 hours. made another small adjustment and Tomorrow is another day.

 

[lrasser]

So after two weeks of tweaking and tuning it's finally locked in and stable for a few days now. Final numbers:

PH 7.8 - 8.09
DKH 8.46
Cal 500
Mag 1440


Everything seems just a touch high but for now i'm just going to monitor the next few days to make sure it stays stable. Then I can just turn it off for a few hours and manually adjust them to where I want everything. For anything thinking of making the switch the setup and adjustments can be a learning experience but for the past few days the levels have been EXACT and for the past few weeks I've seen improved grown and amazing polyp extension on all my SPS. Looking forward to see what the next few weeks brings.

Thanks everyone that helped !!!!!

 

[JBNY]

Excellent that you finally got it dialed in. I know it is such a pain to get it dialed in the first time. Even when I did it when I reset my tank, it took me a few weeks to get it locked in. But once you are done it is pretty much set it and forget it and the tank is very stable.