Victor, I choose to add carbonates to get an immediate rise in pH. I understand that bicarbonates will eventually gve the same result, but a drop of .2 at this point isn't desirable. My pH has been down to 7.6 this week and raising it is a priority.

Hi,

Hmm...So, what is your alk ? One thing to note is that kalk additions with vinegar impair alk measurements. Vinegar makes the alk look better than it really is. Low pH can be caused by many problems and the solution is not always obvious -- in other words, high alk may not solve your problem...just delays the problem.

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...e2002/chem.htm

- Victor.

Victor, I went thru all that with Randy today. My alk is bouncing between 2.5 and 3.5 mEq/L. I no longer use vinegar in my saturated kalk, dosing 5g every 2 days. My reactor was turned off last week. pH still can hit 7.6 at night. I'm building a much larger reactor that should be done this week-end, hopefully that helps. I still can't figure why the low pH though

sodium carbonate / soda ash is sold as phup/ ph increaser in the pool & spa industry. no soapy additives or perfume/scent. cheap from canadain tire/revy,hd

Jim

Sorry to backtrack the thread a little ... Victor, you said you got your A&H from the U.S. ... Aha! I swear our A&H Washing Soda is not the same as that in the U.S., because the guys on RC swore there was no scent to the washing soda. Ours is ... well, like Brad said, perfumey. There's something else in there. Lemony or flowery or something. Very odd.

The boxes that I see at the supermarkets up here, say something like "SO CLEAN! (Super washing soda)". It looks like the product name is "A&H So Clean" and not "Washing Soda."

I like your idea about heating baking soda and making my own washing soda. Thanks for the tip. I will try this.

PS. Brad, I hope things settle out in your tank quite quickly. Good luck!

Good to know we can get it at a pool supply place. I have one nearby. I'm making my own right now using bulk baking soda.

I think one of the biggest problems I have is that I own a pH meter! Looking at my tank and the growth I get (wanna buy some corraline?), you'd never think there was anything out of whack. I think the problem started by having a reactor that was too small for my tank. I had no problems on the 75. I also have not installed fans over the tank and that may be contributing a bit. I'll know tonight what my alk consumption is, but I'm sure I have a net loss. Hopefully the new reactor will keep the alk up with out adding too much CO2. When the alk is near 4, the pH swing is much smaller.

Brad,

As an experiment, I would try turning off the skimmer for a day or two. The pH can either drop or rise. It can drop if there is too much CO2 in the water and the skimmer is aerating the CO2 out of the water. Or it can rise because CO2 from the room air is being injected in to the water via the skimmer.

The other thing I would check is that the CO2 bottle/regulator/everything else is not leaking. The good old soap bubble test should work in this situation.

Hope that helps.

- Victor.

Victor, you're so smart :P I'm going to try that.

I'll also move the CO2 tank out of the room until my new reactor is done. That would eliminate any leaks!

Thanks for the idea!

If you do a search for it at reefcentral you'll learn that Canadian soda wash is different then in the states. Here they add a small amount of non ionic surfactant to assist in the "wetting" process. If I remember, this is what causes the perfume smell and bubbles. I've read not to use it, unless you buy it in the states??

I bought a 2kg jar of pH raiser for swimming pools at CND Tire for about $8.00.

I mix this at a little less than the 6:1 ratio as the pH of calgary water ranges from 7.9 to 8.4 ( I got those numbers from the City od Calgary Water Report).