yellowbelley
Guest
hey
what do yall do to maintain ur PH level to 7.8 - 8.3?
what do yall do to maintain ur PH level to 7.8 - 8.3?
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PH level (1 Viewer)
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If your alkalinity levels are in the right range (2.5-4.5 meq/l) and you have sufficient aeration in your tank, your pH should naturally stay in that range.
If your buffer is in the right range, and your pH is consistently low, you either have too little aeration or excessive CO2 in your home. Excessive CO2 is a common problem in Houston, especially if you live in a newer home. To test for this, take a cup of tank water and drop an airstone in it for a few hours, then measure the pH. If the pH climbs noticeably, then you probably have too little aeration. This isn't a common problem, especially if you have a protein skimmer.
The next test is to take the cup of water and set it outside and aerate it for a few hours. Be sure to keep it out of direct sunlight while you do this, or the readings will be thrown off. Again, measure the pH, and if it rises, then you have a CO2 problem.
The easiest way to solve the CO2 problem is to drip kalk for your makeup water. I was able to maintain my pH higher doing this, but the problem was I don't have enough calcification going on in my tank to use up the calcium that quickly, so my calcium and alk quickly got out of whack dripping that much kalk.
The best way to combat that problem longterm is to add a fresh-air intake to your central air system. We had our AC replaced this summer, so we went ahead and did that. You can also add one to an existing system - costs around $400 to have someone do it. What this does is draw in a small amount of fresh air to your AC, so you are not just recycling the same stale air over and over. It's really a good idea anyway, just to improve the indoor air quality. Several states are already mandating it for new construction, and it's only a matter of time before they all do.
If your buffer is in the right range, and your pH is consistently low, you either have too little aeration or excessive CO2 in your home. Excessive CO2 is a common problem in Houston, especially if you live in a newer home. To test for this, take a cup of tank water and drop an airstone in it for a few hours, then measure the pH. If the pH climbs noticeably, then you probably have too little aeration. This isn't a common problem, especially if you have a protein skimmer.
The next test is to take the cup of water and set it outside and aerate it for a few hours. Be sure to keep it out of direct sunlight while you do this, or the readings will be thrown off. Again, measure the pH, and if it rises, then you have a CO2 problem.
The easiest way to solve the CO2 problem is to drip kalk for your makeup water. I was able to maintain my pH higher doing this, but the problem was I don't have enough calcification going on in my tank to use up the calcium that quickly, so my calcium and alk quickly got out of whack dripping that much kalk.
The best way to combat that problem longterm is to add a fresh-air intake to your central air system. We had our AC replaced this summer, so we went ahead and did that. You can also add one to an existing system - costs around $400 to have someone do it. What this does is draw in a small amount of fresh air to your AC, so you are not just recycling the same stale air over and over. It's really a good idea anyway, just to improve the indoor air quality. Several states are already mandating it for new construction, and it's only a matter of time before they all do.
