How high can PH be?

Daddi0 · 01/29/2018, 09:40 PM

My reef was running a PH of 8.2. It is in my garage which is always open and gets plenty of fresh air. Then I started dosing Kalk. As my Kalk dose started to ramp up, the PH started climbing beyond 8.5. To combat the rising PH, I started dosing vinegar. I would like to lower my vinegar dosing. So my question is how high can I let my PH go before it has ill effects on my mixed reef?
Cheers! Mark

RobZilla04 · 01/30/2018, 05:29 AM

Increased rate of precipitation the higher pH climbs. This puts at risk all wet equipment. As far as how high before livestock becomes endangered, that's a good question.

Are you able to dose the Kalk at night when pH is lower, or perhaps dose smaller amounts more frequently?

Also you can add vinegar to the Kalk to reduce the increasing pH when dosed.

No discussion regarding effects above 8.5 and livestock, however a good read nonetheless:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/

bertoni · 01/30/2018, 03:44 PM

The usual guess is that anything above 8.6 is reason to be worried. Does the tank have a skimmer? Maybe it could use a bit of a tuneup? Aeration might help with this issue.

Daddi0 · 01/30/2018, 05:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bertoni

The usual guess is that anything above 8.6 is reason to be worried. Does the tank have a skimmer? Maybe it could use a bit of a tuneup? Aeration might help with this issue.

How would aeration help exactly?

bertoni · 01/30/2018, 07:10 PM

Aeration could bring more carbon dioxide into the system, which will lower the pH. The limewater and photosynthesis both raise pH by consuming carbon dioxide, so more aeration sometimes helps in limiting the effect.

Daddi0 · 01/30/2018, 07:22 PM

I was under the assumption that aeration brought more air to the water and lowered co2?
I do run a skimmer and have good surface agitation on the 3 tanks that are plumbed together.
Cheers! Mark

bertoni · 01/30/2018, 08:02 PM

More aeration brings the water back to equilibrium with the air more rapidly. If photosynthesis and lime have depleted the carbon dioxide level, aeration will lower the pH.

josephxsxn · 01/31/2018, 07:20 AM

Aeration is the only thing that solved my PH issues, I highly recommend it as a first cheap attempt to solve any PH issue high or low. Typically id recommend people to perform both an indoor and outdoor aeration test to find out if they have high co2 inside the house depressing the PH, but your problem is the reverse (low co2.)

I have a single large airpump with 2 large airstones and its locked my PH into 8.2-8.3 all day long 24/7. I was also running a skimmer but it just wasn't enough to keep everything in equilibrium.

01/29/2018, 09:40 PM	#1
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	How high can PH be? My reef was running a PH of 8.2. It is in my garage which is always open and gets plenty of fresh air. Then I started dosing Kalk. As my Kalk dose started to ramp up, the PH started climbing beyond 8.5. To combat the rising PH, I started dosing vinegar. I would like to lower my vinegar dosing. So my question is how high can I let my PH go before it has ill effects on my mixed reef? Cheers! Mark __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater

01/30/2018, 05:29 AM	#2
RobZilla04 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2016 Location: St. Augustine, FL Posts: 1,857	Increased rate of precipitation the higher pH climbs. This puts at risk all wet equipment. As far as how high before livestock becomes endangered, that's a good question. Are you able to dose the Kalk at night when pH is lower, or perhaps dose smaller amounts more frequently? Also you can add vinegar to the Kalk to reduce the increasing pH when dosed. No discussion regarding effects above 8.5 and livestock, however a good read nonetheless: http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-05/rhf/ __________________ 90g Mixed Reef

01/30/2018, 03:44 PM	#3
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	The usual guess is that anything above 8.6 is reason to be worried. Does the tank have a skimmer? Maybe it could use a bit of a tuneup? Aeration might help with this issue. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/30/2018, 07:10 PM	#5
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	Aeration could bring more carbon dioxide into the system, which will lower the pH. The limewater and photosynthesis both raise pH by consuming carbon dioxide, so more aeration sometimes helps in limiting the effect. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/30/2018, 07:22 PM	#6
Daddi0 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2017 Location: Redwood City Posts: 1,354	I was under the assumption that aeration brought more air to the water and lowered co2? I do run a skimmer and have good surface agitation on the 3 tanks that are plumbed together. Cheers! Mark __________________ 2x 65g displays with a 30g cryptic refugium and 30g sump - 55g reef 30g Bio-cube reef - I.M. 30g reef - 45g freshwater

01/30/2018, 08:02 PM	#7
bertoni RC Mod Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Mountain View, CA, USA Posts: 88,616	More aeration brings the water back to equilibrium with the air more rapidly. If photosynthesis and lime have depleted the carbon dioxide level, aeration will lower the pH. __________________ Jonathan Bertoni

01/31/2018, 07:20 AM	#8
josephxsxn Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2017 Location: DTW, Michigan Posts: 122	Aeration is the only thing that solved my PH issues, I highly recommend it as a first cheap attempt to solve any PH issue high or low. Typically id recommend people to perform both an indoor and outdoor aeration test to find out if they have high co2 inside the house depressing the PH, but your problem is the reverse (low co2.) I have a single large airpump with 2 large airstones and its locked my PH into 8.2-8.3 all day long 24/7. I was also running a skimmer but it just wasn't enough to keep everything in equilibrium.