Skimmer advice

crass

crass

Member
Hi all

I have a little problem that keeps cropping up and I want to resolve it. Tank is a total of 550 ltrs

Firstly my ph struggles to get over 7,5 -
I have taken a line to receive outside air supply, my water values are spot on.
Ca-450
Mag-1380
KH-10.9
Sal-1.025

I have had to stop running my Calcium reactor because it drops my Ph further.

So I was thinking that my skimmer is insufficient. I have a Deltec TS1250 and I'm thinking of upgrading to something thats suited to aquariums of 1000 ltrs or higher. I have also been offered a Deltec Ap702 (recommended for a 2000ltr) but I'm concerned it may over skim !

thanks in advance
 
crass

crass

Member
Am I correct in saying a ph of 7.5 is damaging for lps and sps? when I run my calcium reactor in down at 7.1ph
 
nanoreefing4fun

nanoreefing4fun

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
a ph of 7.8-8.5 is fine

not sure about a PH of 7.5 being damaging to lps & sps corals, maybe others can advise...
 
D

DaveK

Well-Known Member
Overall I don't think you have much of a problem.

I don't think your going to get a much better skimmer than the Deltec, unless you spend a lot of money. Even then, I think you'll get only a marginal improvement. While you can't overskim a tank, you do get to the point of diminishing returns.

Using a kalk reactor on the ATO, as recommended by sirrealism is a good idea, and they are not that expensive.

You could also try using calcium chloride (Turbo Calcium) for a one time boost in calcium. However is should not be used all the time.

Your pH isn't that bad. For something like this, consider how your livestock is doing. If it's all doing well, you may be best off leaving it alone.

If you want to spend a lot of money, consider a controller that can record pH over long periods, and you'll be able to see what it's doing durring the day and at night. There can often be a considerable swing in pH over a 24 hour period.
 
Frankie

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Nice post Dave,
Your ca++ is over ocean value. 420ppm is the desired number. Anything over and calcium uptake diminishes.
Agreed that a Kalk reactor may be the answer. Also, you can try adding a carbon box to the air line. I found that filtering skimmer air intake helped a lot. I have a similar situation with ph being to low.
Curious, where are you located?
 
crass

crass

Member
Thanks for the advice so far….Im based in Norway just outside Oslo

I will try the carbon box thats a good idea….. My livestock looks happy but I recently lost a bunch of lps for reasons unknown as my values are stable….so a LFS said my pH was too low and that turned the water acidic for LPS causing stress and loss of corals. He also suggested running a calk stirrer along side my calcium reactor. But when he found out what skimmer I had he said upgrade that because its not big enough for my tank volume. I was told that its good to have a skimmer that has a higher air intake than the volume of the tank. My skimmer is currently producing 350lts per hour of air. Also that if I have a higher capacity skimmer it will help with PH as I could drip the Cal reac effluent into the air rich water of the return hose of the skimmer. Also it has added benefits of keeping nitrates under control…etc.

According to Deltec my skimmer has these specs .
Stocking:
  • Normal Stocking 750 lts - 166 UK gallons - 200 US gallons
  • Heavy Stocking 500 lts - 111 UK gallons - 130 US gallons

I can get a kalkwasser stirrer for cheap money so thats a bonus!
So is the skimmer too small for my set up? I will start looking for a Kalk stirrer too.
 
Frankie

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Your aquarium is 550 lts. So you should be fine with your current skimmer if rated for 500 lts. Heavy stock.
If it was another skimmer I would say go bigger but the Deltec is a good product. I trust there accuracy in there estimation.
That being said, how often are you doing water changes and how much? A skimmer is not the only way to tackle waste proteins.
I find regular small water changes of 10-15% weekly benifits the aquarium better then larger water changes over a longer period like monthly.
Also the coral enjoy the fresh nutrients. :)
I asked your location because I live at a low elevation on the ocean and think it may have something to do with my ph issues.
 
crass

crass

Member
Hi Frankie

I do Water changes weekly 10-20%, I am very happy with my deltec and wouldn't purchase any other brand!
I also live at low elevation so there is some similarity!
Thanks for the advice so far
 
Frankie

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Sounds like you are on top of the game!
I had a feeling you were low elevation!
As for the carbon box, there is no known one to buy that I am aware of. I invented mine out of necessity. Basically, I attached the air intake to a box out of acrylic I filled with Rox carbon. The "box" can be anything that will hold the carbon.
 
crass

crass

Member
Frankie
Im going to cut a plastic bottle in half and fill with Activated Carbon and make a connection on the lid for the airline tube.

Whats the science behind this?
 
crass

crass

Member
AHHHH simple as that….I knew about carbon filtration, but i was expecting something a bit more magic
 
Frankie

Frankie

Well-Known Member
RS STAFF
Ha, magic is for slight of hand. Science is reality and miracles belong to God.
Pollutions in the air are what effects ph through oxygen exchange. Carbon dioxide content is the enemy here. Using carbon, (coal) to trap these pollutants greatly increases the quality of the oxygen content.
 
crass

crass

Member
We have huge carbon box filters on the ventilation units on most building here in Norway ! it helps with pollution levels and provides clean air for staff…..in the Saltwater world you sometimes expect the advice received as a bit of magic, as we find unusual solutions to our problems!

Thanks for all the advice…..
 
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