does protein skimming alter Ph and Alk?

[burtbollinger]

been having some chemisty problems...ph at 8.1, Alk at 15 and Ca around 350....

[er1c_the_reefer]

yes. it increases available oxygen and decreases co2, so it raises pH, albeit very slightly.

 

your alk is high. bring it down and your ca should balance itself.

 

http://www.tropic-marin.com/web/english/pr...lca-balance.htm

 

^ that stuff works good, but you can just use normal calcium chloride just as well.

 

are you dosing anything else? 2 part?

[burtbollinger]

yes, been dosing 2 part....but mainly just using the calcium component in an attempt to bring it up to par. I've not used much of the Alk component at all.... I've also been using the sechem Reef Buffer for Ph.

 

The alk seems consistently high...perhaps I need to cut back on the Ph buffering? Is bumping up the Ph also raising the alk?

 

I'm just kinda confused about what to do at this point....I'm guessing I let the Alk lower itself, dose Ca daily and keep testing?

 

I keep reading over and over about alk and ph and ca, but it almost gets more confusing the more i read

 

The tank itself looks very healthy...but I worry.

[bdare]

yes, been dosing 2 part....but mainly just using the calcium component in an attempt to bring it up to par. I've not used much of the Alk component at all.... I've also been using the sechem Reef Buffer for Ph.

 

The alk seems consistently high...perhaps I need to cut back on the Ph buffering? Is bumping up the Ph also raising the alk?

 

I'm just kinda confused about what to do at this point....I'm guessing I let the Alk lower itself, dose Ca daily and keep testing?

 

I keep reading over and over about alk and ph and ca, but it almost gets more confusing the more i read

 

The tank itself looks very healthy...but I worry.

Definitely cut back on the Ph buffering products. All these do is raise Alk.

 

Ph is simply a function of available Oxygen and Alk in your tank. As long as your alk is above 7 or 8 if you Ph is still low it's because you have CO2 build up. You just need to increase oxygen / gas exchange with the tank. A protein skimmer is an excellent way to achieve this. Try opening a window in the room with the tank for a day or two and I'm confident you'll see a marked increase in Ph.

 

What salt are you using? How are you measuring Ph?

[smedge]

Reef buffer also raises alk. It says it on the bottle.

[SeeDemTails]

Yeah I would stop using the buffer and concentrate on more surface flow.

[burtbollinger]

thanks for putting it simply...I'll discontinue using the ph buffer...I also readded the skimmer to the tank ( I was using it for a few days on another tank)