I've finally managed to get a stable pH between 8.2-8.4 after nearly a year of trying different things and I wanted to document what I did for anyone who is struggling with pH like I was.
When I first set up my tank and got it up and running (in my basement). I was consistently running a pH of 7.4-7.5. That was a long way from where I wanted to be so I started looking into ways to increase the pH.
I started with a simple fresh air test where I opened all the windows in the house which led to the following:
So the first thing I did was install a fresh air line into my Durso overflow that brought in outside air to my tank. After doing that I saw an immediate bump but still ultimately settled out at about 7.7-7.8
From there I added a large CO2 scrubber to the air line between the house and the tank, and fed about 50% of the air through it. I only have to change out the media about every 4 months so far, however that bought me another 0.2 bump into the low 8's.
Around February I eventually added a skimmer which I also plumbed into the fresh air line and increased my air exchange further. This was another small bump, bringing me up to the 8.1 top end of the range.
Finally in my effort to win my battle with algae I bought a neptune GRO light for a refugium in my sump which I am currently running 20 hours a day. This finally got me up to my target where I am consistently above 8.1
I've actually decreased the air going through my CO2 scrubber, and once I've got the algae under control I am hoping to cut my refugium down to 12-16 hours and reduce the pH variation over the day to get a more steady pH closer to 8.2.
I do no dosing on the tank other than regular water changes, and I keep my Alk around 8-8.5. Once my corals are uptaking more alk than I do in water changes I will remove the CO2 scrubber and start dosing kalk which should keep my pH balanced while also allowing me to dose.
So for anyone struggling to get their pH up, there is hope. With steady changes and no dosing/chemicals I was able to get my pH up almost a full point from where I started.
When I first set up my tank and got it up and running (in my basement). I was consistently running a pH of 7.4-7.5. That was a long way from where I wanted to be so I started looking into ways to increase the pH.
I started with a simple fresh air test where I opened all the windows in the house which led to the following:
So the first thing I did was install a fresh air line into my Durso overflow that brought in outside air to my tank. After doing that I saw an immediate bump but still ultimately settled out at about 7.7-7.8
From there I added a large CO2 scrubber to the air line between the house and the tank, and fed about 50% of the air through it. I only have to change out the media about every 4 months so far, however that bought me another 0.2 bump into the low 8's.
Around February I eventually added a skimmer which I also plumbed into the fresh air line and increased my air exchange further. This was another small bump, bringing me up to the 8.1 top end of the range.
Finally in my effort to win my battle with algae I bought a neptune GRO light for a refugium in my sump which I am currently running 20 hours a day. This finally got me up to my target where I am consistently above 8.1
I've actually decreased the air going through my CO2 scrubber, and once I've got the algae under control I am hoping to cut my refugium down to 12-16 hours and reduce the pH variation over the day to get a more steady pH closer to 8.2.
I do no dosing on the tank other than regular water changes, and I keep my Alk around 8-8.5. Once my corals are uptaking more alk than I do in water changes I will remove the CO2 scrubber and start dosing kalk which should keep my pH balanced while also allowing me to dose.
So for anyone struggling to get their pH up, there is hope. With steady changes and no dosing/chemicals I was able to get my pH up almost a full point from where I started.
