There are simple ways to increase pH if the cause is excess CO2 including reverse lighting a sump with Cheato, running the skimmer intake line outside, 2-part dosing also helps (at least the Alk part) and Kalk dosed top-off water..
I use a simple Soda-Lime CO2 scrubber. It works great (I average a 0.20 pH increase.) It's virtually no maintenance and inexpensive - On my small small tank (~70 gal) and skimmer, the media lasts about 9 months Replacement color changing media (Soda Lime) is readily available. You can use any canister filter instead of purchasing a commercial unit.
For me, it was a simple (and cheap) way to resolve my pH issues that is stable and does not alter other water chemistry (i.e Alk or CA.).
I use the soda lime reactor as well, and +1 on all the comments above regarding ease of use. My tank is in a basement and the excess CO2 can build up, especially if the kids have friends over and they're down there all day and night. I get about a 0.3 pH unit bump (8.0-8.1 up to 8.3-8.4) from using the soda lime (run my skimmer air through a DIY reactor with the media in it).
I started with the 2 Little Fishies product from BRS, but was going through a container every 4-6 weeks (depending on how much time the kids were in the basement) (150 gallon tank). Someone pointed me to this product. Same performance and significantly cheaper.
Originally Posted by CalmSeasQuest
Reply With Quote
