best way to rase my ph?

[thepollock]

what is the best what to do this. i know the randys two part says backing soda and if i do this how much should i dose? my ph is @ 7.75 or around there

[wes]

I did a few things to raise my pH, which was hovering around 7.9. I got a little better gas exchange by cracking a window to get a bit of actual outside air and more surface flow, added a fuge 24/7 (since changed to reverse cycle) and gravity dose kalk. To figure how much to dose (it's really variable from what I've read), I dosed a little at a time and checked the pH very frequently till I figured about how much would keep it aound 8.2 or 8.3 If you have a pH probe, I imagine this would be a lot easier...

[thepollock]

yes i have a controler to keep a eye on things

[David Grigor]

If you alkalinity is at or above 7dkh then CO2 is the cause of the lower PH. Fresh air, refugium, and kalkwasser are the main ways reduce CO2 levels.

Before doing anything you need to confirm your PH reading is accurate.

[David Grigor]

Baked Baking soda will help increase but will also increase Alkalinity. If you don't bake the baking soda it will actually decrease ( increases CO2 ) your PH in addition to raising your alkalinity.

To get the biggest bang from baked baking soda should add it during the low PH times of day to help close the gap on the PH swings. This is where automated dosing pump running at night is a real benefit.

How much you add is determined by your Alkalinity reading. Also when dosing baking soda you should also be adding a calcium source to balance or your CA levels will fall.

[thepollock]

my ph meter is right on i just got it and calib. 2 days ago

[thepollock]

my kh is 7.4dkh
my alk is 2.63 meg/l

[David Grigor]

You just have to find ways to reduce co2 levels in your tank. I would target the evening hows where the ph is the lowest. Kalkwasser dripped at night is probably the biggest difference maker you could do right away. Refugium with lights on a night would also help but won't be the biggest bang thing without lots of macro algae.....to help get the morning low PH up which will in turn increase the overall.

Or lastly, just make sure you keep your Alk elevated around 10dkh and just let the PH fall where it may.....The higher PH you can run will help calcification some but isn't going to be a huge impact.

[sea monkey]

kalk in your auto top off is one of the best long term PH solutions that wont mess up your tanks chemistry and also a easy to implement calcium/alkalinity solution.

[mattb]

Did you do the aeration test? Take a sample of tank water, aerate it outside for an hour and measure the pH. If higher, your room where your tank is has elevated levels of CO2 relative to the outside air. To remedy, vent your skimmer outside ( assuming you have a skimmer that draws a lot of air and processes the tank water volume enough).

The danger with using a lot of kalk to combat CO2 levels is that kalk will add a lot of alk, causing your alk to spike above 10-12 dKH. You're sps, if you have any, will not like that and may tn if nutrient poor...