daves-reef
Non-member
I recently went on vacation for few days and while the house was empty (Even the dog was boarded).
While we were out of the house. PH of the tank ranged 7.90 to 8.03 when house was empty.
When I returned home everything looked better and I swear I could see increased polyp extension and growth.
I have started trying to boost my tank PH, with a basement sump and in a closet it's always been notoriously low.
My preference is to not chase a specific number or add bunch of PH boost products that could cause more harm then good.
I had made my first change (Puling air from outside closet to skimmer) before I left for vacation.
That got daily range to 7.80-7.92 up from a daily low of 7.7 before vacation.
Since I had all the hardware items I needed. Empty reactor and hoses. (Did have to buy to connectors).
I picked up some soda lime before vacation so I could add a CO2 scrubber.
I set it up to recirculate (Not fully just using a bowl) and so far tank PH is ranging 7.88 to 8.02 for almost a week.
The only draw back I can see will be the cost of soda lime depending on how fast it is depleted.
I also started adding kalkwasser now (but with little demand small frags only) it is a low amount to start "160-180 ml" a day.
It is not yet enough to impact PH much.
I may try pulling air from outside the closet rather than recirculating skimmer air to see what is better vs soda lime usage cost.
While we were out of the house. PH of the tank ranged 7.90 to 8.03 when house was empty.
When I returned home everything looked better and I swear I could see increased polyp extension and growth.
I have started trying to boost my tank PH, with a basement sump and in a closet it's always been notoriously low.
My preference is to not chase a specific number or add bunch of PH boost products that could cause more harm then good.
I had made my first change (Puling air from outside closet to skimmer) before I left for vacation.
That got daily range to 7.80-7.92 up from a daily low of 7.7 before vacation.
Since I had all the hardware items I needed. Empty reactor and hoses. (Did have to buy to connectors).
I picked up some soda lime before vacation so I could add a CO2 scrubber.
I set it up to recirculate (Not fully just using a bowl) and so far tank PH is ranging 7.88 to 8.02 for almost a week.
The only draw back I can see will be the cost of soda lime depending on how fast it is depleted.
I also started adding kalkwasser now (but with little demand small frags only) it is a low amount to start "160-180 ml" a day.
It is not yet enough to impact PH much.
I may try pulling air from outside the closet rather than recirculating skimmer air to see what is better vs soda lime usage cost.
