pH toooooo low!

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

FYI, I had that stirrer. I also have a lab grade portable conductivity meter. The concentration of kalkwasser is highest right when you first fill with water and add kalkwasser. The concentration of kalkwasser just keeps dropping and dropping after that, even with a bunch of excess kalk at the bottom of the reactor. The stirring isn't enough. It seems there is something going on that causes concentrated kalk to stay low.

That's why (one reason) I don't care for reactors. Many people just mistakenly assume it is saturated and often it is not when they actually measure it.

Kalkwasser dissolution is not super rapid. Even in a fully mixing container with loads of fine particulates swirling all through it, it can take a fair amount of time (many minutes) to become saturated.

Also, eventually the solids that remain may be mostly calcium carbonate, so seeing solids remain does not mean their is much calcium hydroxide left to dissolve.

 

[Velcro]

That's why (one reason) I don't care for reactors. Many people just mistakenly assume it is saturated and often it is not when they actually measure it.

Kalkwasser dissolution is not super rapid. Even in a fully mixing container with loads of fine particulates swirling all through it, it can take a fair amount of time (many minutes) to become saturated.

Also, eventually the solids that remain may be mostly calcium carbonate, so seeing solids remain does not mean their is much calcium hydroxide left to dissolve.

That being said, I feel like the recirculating pump driven stirrers would probably be much better at keeping it saturated between dosing. Just have it programmed to lick on a good half hour before dosing for a few minutes and it should mix it up pretty well. This is assuming there is little exposure to air which could cause precipitation issues.

 

[Steved350]

So Should I be dosing Kalk (if used for pH elevation) opposite of my light cycle like you do with a Refugium?

 

[Want2BS8ed]

I told you Randy didn't like kalk reactors ;-).

I prefer to remember the increased kalkwasser every month/month-and-half was due to my outstanding husbandry and rapid coral growth; not the calcium hydroxide petering out in my kalk reactor! LOL

M

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

That being said, I feel like the recirculating pump driven stirrers would probably be much better at keeping it saturated between dosing. Just have it programmed to lick on a good half hour before dosing for a few minutes and it should mix it up pretty well. This is assuming there is little exposure to air which could cause precipitation issues.

I've shown that unstirred limewater in a trash can with a normal trash can lid holds its concentration for weeks:

The Degradation of Limewater in Air - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rhf/feature/index.htm

Figure 2. The conductivity of the limewater in my dosing reservoir as a function of time.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I told you Randy didn't like kalk reactors ;-).

I prefer to remember the increased kalkwasser every month/month-and-half was due to my outstanding husbandry and rapid coral growth; not the calcium hydroxide petering out in my kalk reactor! LOL

M

They are certainly fine to use if space is limited, but folks make assumptions about them that are often not true.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

So Should I be dosing Kalk (if used for pH elevation) opposite of my light cycle like you do with a Refugium?

It's a fine thing to do if bringing up the low pH end is the goal. Alk stability is another possible goal, and that might suggest 24/7 is better.

 

[Brew12]

I've shown that unstirred limewater in a trash can with a normal trash can lid holds its concentration for weeks:

The Degradation of Limewater in Air - Reefkeeping.com
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2003-05/rhf/feature/index.htm

Figure 2. The conductivity of the limewater in my dosing reservoir as a function of time.

I read this which is what got me away from going that route. Instead, I have an old 5g salt bucket with a hole drilled in the lid for the dosing line. 10 tsp Kalkwasser and 1 tablespoon vinegar (just because). Snap down the lid, and dose a total of 750ml using 10 evenly spaced doses. Right now that seems to keep my alk stable since my demand is still low.

 

[Want2BS8ed]

@Randy Holmes-Farley quasi related question regarding a CO2 scrubber and pulling humid air from a skimmers collection cup: if one were to insert a tee after the scrubber but before the skimmer's venturi to inject ozone, should there be any concern for the interaction of residual ozone (if any) and soda lime?

Thanks!

M

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

@Randy Holmes-Farley quasi related question regarding a CO2 scrubber and pulling humid air from a skimmers collection cup: if one were to insert a tee after the scrubber but before the skimmer's venturi to inject ozone, should there be any concern for the interaction of residual ozone (if any) and soda lime?

Thanks!

M

I don't think that's a concern for the scrubber process, but I suppose the high pH surfaces of the soda lime might help catalyze the breakdown of ozone to O2:

https://www.lenntech.com/library/ozone/decomposition/ozone-decomposition.htm

"In addition the pH influences acid/base equilibriums of some compounds and also the reaction speed of ozone. This applies also to the reaction with scavenger CO32-, which is also pH dependant (Pka HCO32-/CO32- = 10,3).

Figure 1 shows that the decay of ozone in a basic environment is much faster than in an acid environment."

 

[Want2BS8ed]

Awesome. Thanks Randy. Only dealing with residual that would have made it through the skimmer and been taken up through the collection cup into the scrubber so it appears I'm OK.

Wanted to make sure I wasn't creating some toxic gas that would wipeout the neighborhood!

Appreciate your time and the opportunity to learn something new.

Mike

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Awesome. Thanks Randy. Only dealing with residual that would have made it through the skimmer and been taken up through the collection cup into the scrubber so it appears I'm OK.

Wanted to make sure I wasn't creating some toxic gas that would wipeout the neighborhood!

Appreciate your time and the opportunity to learn something new.

Mike

You're welcome.

Happy Reefing.

 

[bubbaque]

I must say I have seen a world of difference with the ERV installed! This is the highest I’ve ever seen my ph. I know it’s still “low” considering what some people get their ph up to but I couldn’t be happier.

The crazy thing is most people say it’s not possible or a testing error to get ph as low as I was getting it but it goes to show I truly was. I was calibrating my probe once a week hoping it was off but it never was. Today I almost hit 8.1!

 

[Steved350]

ERV?

 

[Scorpius]

ERV?

https://www.lennox.com/products/indoor-air-quality/ventilation/erv

 

[bubbaque]

ERV?

It is a ventilator you install that sucks out stale air in the home and blows in fresh outside air. Me and my kids are home most the day so I have high co2 in the house. I figured if I can get some fresh air in here to reduce the co2 levels it should help with ph, so far it has. It took about 4 hrs to install but I had to be in a hot attic to do it. Here is a pic of it installed above my tank, it's the larger looking thing. I didn't buy a big expensive one. This is the link to the one I bought. https://www.amazon.com/Panasonic-FV...&qid=1518564538&sr=8-1&keywords=Panasonic+erv

 

[Scorpius]

Never mind. I don't know how to read obviously.

 

[2una]

Thought i'd post this for the hell of it as it shows ph/skimmer relationship a little.
I dosed fluconazole where the green line is & turned my 2 main skimmers down then so there was no skimmate going to the cup.
Ati Powercone 200is which uses a pretty chunky Jebao DCT 4000 pump - normally running at level 5 - turned down to level 2
Bubble Magus D9 - normally running at level 4.5 - turned down to level 2
I still have other things running - small cupless skimmer(rsm 250) my carx effluent drops into.
Kalk 2L/ day going in 24/7.
If i turned both skimmers off completely the graph would be a whole differant story but as you can see just with less aeration happening there's a 0.1 drop just from that alone.

 

[GoVols]

@bubbaque
Congrats!!!
That's a great investment


@Randy Holmes-Farley
On another note:
Can cal reactor media grow denitrifying bacteria (especially in the second stage) that could gas off nitrates, or would the ph be too low?

Thanks, Freddie

 

[Brew12]

@bubbaque
Congrats!!!
That's a great investment


@Randy Holmes-Farley
On another note:
Can cal reactor media grow denitrifying bacteria (especially in the second stage) that could gas off nitrates, or would the ph be too low?

Thanks, Freddie

I'm curious what the point would be in gassing off nitrates in the 2nd chamber?