Any way to automatically maintain alkalinity?

[Steve973]

One of the things that we strive for in the nano niche of our hobby is stability. For stability in salinity, there are a number of well-respected solutions, and many of us employ them with great success. But I was wondering if there are any nano-friendly solutions for alkalinity and pH. I don't mind purchasing something like an Apex Jr. controller, if it will interact with something that will help me to adjust things like alkalinity and pH. But I don't have a lot of room for a bunch of equipment, so that's a factor. Any ideas?

[Mariaface]

...A dosing pump? You'll want to test alk and make sure it's stable before leaving for weeks at a time, but those work.

 

As far as pH goes, you can use the pH probe on a controller to monitor it. And if it's programmable (the controller), you can turn other equipment on/off as a response to high/low pH.

[Jellyingabout]

i always get nervous about dosing on a nano, just because there's so much that can go wrong.

 

A great way to do it is with a nitrate filter. I know is seems unlinked but many of the anaerobic processes result in an alk increases, A canister filter full of porous rock (seachem de*nitrate is a great starter) with flow of only a drop a second will become anaerobic, vodka dosing will help get it started. Not only will it help stabilize alk, but it'll low nitrate which all in all will boost the cycle in your LR as the concentration gradient is lowered, worked on my tank, provides amazing stability.

 

however they need to be fairly big to be of any use because of the slow flow rate, it worked very well on my 24g but i'm not sure for anything bigger.

[Bill Nye]

The closest thing to automation is a calcium reactor with a ph probe to control it. I think kalk would also be pretty set and forget once you figure out how much your tank is using up.

[Radioheadx14]

there is no meter or continual measuring device like pH or Temp, so its impossible to set anything and forget it. Dosing with tweaks is probably the best. Im to the point on my nano where I check it twice a week and add a minute or two here and there to the dosing program.

[CJJon]

IMO, trying to adjust pH is a fool's errand, automatically or otherwise. How much are you dosing now? Does your tank vary in the amounts needed to where auto testing and dosing is required? Will water changes not keep up with demand? What about smaller, more frequent (and easier) water changes? How big of a tank? What livestock do you have in it?

 

Stability does not necessarily come from auto testing and dosing.

[lkoechle]

pH changes throughout the day, just like temp. Your light cycle will affect it, your temp will affect it, it isn't a lone piece like salinity. pH changes are a natural daily occurrence in our tanks and in the ocean. So "stable" I think is inappropriate and "acceptable" is a better descriptor for what I think you're asking. (advanced aqaurist goes more into it here http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2002/5/chemistry )

 

I would dose and measure and then tweak it as your tank needs it. I wouldn't use a calc reactor. To be fair, I've never used one, but I read on a site (can't remember the name now that I need it), that it's not considered one of the best solutions. Vague explanation, I know, I just remember thinking "Well, I'll never use one of those." and chucked it out of my head. I'll post the article link if I can find it.

 

Edit: I originally found it via an article on reefkeeping.com (the name I could not remember) but it's another Advanced Aquarist article. I didn't like the idea of low pH and other drawbacks in that scenario.

 

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2003/2/chemistry

[gus6464]

2-part is easy to dose once you figure out how much you losing per day and how much your solution increases it. For example:

 

On my 23g I was seeing that my dkh was going down by 1 every 2 days. I bought continuum stuff as it was on sale and their recommended dosage is 1ml per 5 gallons. I have ~30g of total water volume so I started with their recommended dose. By dosing 6ml I say my dkh go up by 1 so that was the magic number. Now since my dkh takes 2 days to dip a point I can half dose every day to keep it at 7. I also have their Magnesium and Potassium and I have been dosing that as well every day and stuff is looking awesome.

 

Also it is pointless to do any measuring by pH as it varies by time of day. You need to be using dKH to keep your pH constant. When lights are on for most people the water temp tends to be higher so pH will be higher during those times. If you don't keep your KH balanced the temp spike will make the pH swing a lot more.

[blasterman]

I wouldn't use a calc reactor. To be fair, I've never used one, but I read on a site (can't remember the name now that I need it), that it's not considered one of the best solutions

 

 

If you read enough articles on the internet you'll run across something stupid, and this is one of them. Calcium reactors back up the best SPS tanks I've ever seen - period. They just don't work well on small tanks.

 

Twp part dosing allows you to tweak dKH and calcium levels seperately, and this tends to work better on smaller tanks. The problem with smaller tanks is dKH gets sucked up faster than calcium because faster growing softies and the biological filter use dKH as the main source of organic carbon.

 

My smaller tanks tend to be LPS or softier heavy, and hence they eat a lot of dKH that I suppliment nightly with baking soda. I just siphon off a pint of tank water, add the required amount of baking soda, shake it up, and dump it back in the tank. Never had a problem with this. It's dKH swings over a period of several days that get you into trouble.