Thank-you soon much Chris! You've unlocked the biggest reefing secret in this hobby for the past 10years. Pure Genius! When you talk about your "marine scientist" friend, don't you mean tour alter ego?😆 Keep up the good work! I can't wait to see what comes next from you guys.
Hands down the BEST (most informative and inspiring) video I’ve watched it months. The mad scientist in me already looking more into this. Can someone do a livestream so we can all talk more about this. Thank you Chris and Richard!!
Very interesting, but I am a bit confused on one thing. I hear Chris saying the corals are growing quickly, but having to turn down the calcium reactor doesn't sound like a good sign. Why should everything we know about Ca, Mg, and Alkalinity be thrown out the window? It is no longer the case that faster growing corals are building more skeleton and the system then needs more calcium? At 19:40 I believe there may have been a few side tangents and I may have missed the answer.
From my understanding, hydroxide will raise pH and raise alkalinity upon first introduction. It gets rid of carbonic acid and make with more pH and less c02 in the water. With that said, he teamed up potassium hydroxide with bit more of calcium hydroxide (which gives more calcium and alkalinity) and need of calcium reactor dropped alot and corals are growing at much faster rate with better coloration. As to throwing way what we know about cal,alk, mag, I think that's personal opinion. I don't think we should literally throw away what we know now but we can add to it. What i think he means is that understanding all these things that are in the water that forms that perfect ionic balance isnt just easy 1,2,3 as it seems in most cases and there are many more variables in between those elements that can help. Keep in mind, he's a mad scientist coral farmer lol.
@reefs "mad scientist coral farmer" is a great thing. I am sure my friends would describe me this way as well. Sucks we can't all sit down at a big conference and chat. I get what you are saying now with the calcium and potassium being added differently now.(I need to get more sleep) I suspect in time trace elements depletion may be a little different. Some of the major elements such as Strontium and Mg may also need boosted.(Mg would be easy just add more media to the reactor or a larger percentage of Mg media versus other calcium reactor media.
@@jongordon3507 he does very specially formulated trace elements in his system and between corals and the algae scrubbers consuming it, it's barely detectable in icp tests. He says that you notice the difference right away when the trace elements are low. And yes, i miss the shows terribly. :/
@@Reefscom I am curious if Chris is testing for total Alkalinity as an indicator of what may be going on with carbonate alkalinity. Is it possible total Alkalinity was climbing, but carbonate Alkalinity was remaing the same?(until the Calcium reactor was adjusted and then his Carbonates Alkalinity started decreasing)
This is completely true!! I use a co2 scrubber that peeks my PH 8.35 - 8.4 and my growth and alk utilization has been out the roof.. polyp extension and colors are all good. Moral of the story.... chase PH!
Happy to hear that you have been experiencing so much success! In the end, we want what's best for our corals and animals and I'm grateful for those that are experimenting so that we can benefit from it. Yes, let's raise that pH!
Awesome work Chris. I've found the same results with stable pH near 8.3 as well this year after installing a an HRV with a CO2 monitor and still dripping Kalkwasser. pH is important for sure.
Hey Ellery, Richard here. I think we briefly spoke about your setups via facebook. I'm thinking about installing the whole home dehumidifier to reduce humidity and to raise pH.
@@Reefscom I run a portable dehumidifier to maintain at 50%RH year round but that never assisted with raising pH since it just recirculated the hot air back inside. An Air conditioner is basically a dehumidifier as well so I run that 24/7 maintaining 70F year round with the blowers running 24/7 to keep the air circulating throughout the house (mine is a central forced air unit). From what I read on some HVAC sites the whole home Dehumidifier does not bring in fresh air. What you would need in Florida is an ERV due to your longer cooling season. That would also take the moisture out of the outside fresh air as it is brought into your house. If your house in general has high humidity you may need both. With 500g in my basement everyone says it is surprisingly dry and comfortable with no fishy smell haha!
@@Ellery-USA haha yea i wouls need erv. My humidity is reaching 60 something percent and people have been telling me that was also impacting the pH in negative way. Ah need to straighten this out soon..
I live in Florida and am in the process of installing an ERV right now. I found that at night my co2 levels were peaking around 1200ppm which is crazy high. Not good for our health and not good for keeping stable high PH. Modern homes are built so air tight that mechanical air exchange is a must.
WOW! Great video! Blown away! I know you have a method but is this for beginners? I am not new to reefs but beginners as in dosing kalk? Do I need a huge barrel of water too? I have 3 tanks and wan to start with my small 20g aio first. Ionly have room for possibly a 5 gallon container. I live infl as well so top of by hand. I am fixing to hook up an ato but Dosnt evaporate much. Is it going to work in a tank that dosnt evaporate much? I have no apex but was going to buy a ph controller! is it possible to do in ato water top off I even hand dose my alk and all. But going to buy dosers! I just bough all for reef but got me to thinking about it lowering my ph since I use soda ash which that all got me into looking into different ways to up ph. Very slow growth! Plus teeny tiny frags coming n from CB! lol No way to drill a hole as this tank is in kitchen and long way from any walls to outside! Plus Tampa fl humidity and having lawn sprayed! kalk is the only way being in kitchen and an aio no sump ect!
for small tanks, you do not need one. Depends on what you are keeping. What are your calcium and alkalinity consumption? Depending on the application, you can start with two little fishies' kalk reactor. Dosing kalk with your evaporation using the ATO.
This is the most amazing video! Now I need to go out and get a pH controller and Brightwells pH+ Boost. Thank you so much Chris and Richard - this will change reefing. BRS did stuff on it but this is next level!
@@Reefscom No worries... took me a while to watch it as I stopped it and came back to it when I had no disturbances ;) I measured my pH right after and 8.3... arrrgghhh - guess I don't need it (it was the morning and the lights just turned on). I think the next thing I buy though will be a chea pH monitor/controller - then I got work out how to dose it if it drops - I'm not seeing much growth so I was hoping it was the pH.
@@Reefscom No worries... took me a while to watch it as I stopped it and came back to it when I had no disturbances ;) I measured my pH right after and 8.3... arrrgghhh - guess I don't need it (it was the morning and the lights just turned on). I think the next thing I buy though will be a chea pH monitor/controller - then I got work out how to dose it if it drops - I'm not seeing much growth so I was hoping it was the pH.
@@sunnygoold9449 no growth may also be associated with p04. Have you checked on that as well? Also, so jealous on your pH levels. Mine right now is at 7.8 at the peak. Slowly ramping up while testing for potassium .
What 3/8" needle valve did you choose? Yes! Kalk will allow the very minimum amount of soda ash to be used and keep the pH very stable in small systems with the combination of the 2, and it is like driving a classic GT! Love the potassium addition. Thanks very much for sharing. Best to you, man!!
I tried dripping my kale in my system but I’m running a calcium reactor and my alkalinity keeps rising I have to figure that out my all went fro 9 to 12 in two days had to stop so I have to figure out how long I will need to drop and stop and continue to monitor my system
I'm a process control engineer and this video just gave me so many ideas. I've been considering setting up a scaled down automated tank for proof of concept. There's so much I could do for a commercial operation. All of the process controls I automate are directly applicable to a commercial frag operation. Then I find out I'm only a few miles from ACI Aquaculture in Plant City. I wonder if they give tours? I know where the Apex systems fall short. Way short of what's possible. So many ideas right now! lol
Hey chris. I have 180 gallons of water running a 90 gallon tank. Sumps in basement. How much sodium hydroxide to gallon rodi. Then how much ya start with in mil. Hope to hear from you.
( Critical thinking of what You said) when your calcium reactor kicks on it dose co2 to ur tank making ur kalk produce more alk. I don’t believe ur hydroxcides will over exert ur co2 out of the water . It will just add more calcium and not get the benefits of alk.
@@theideaofclips5481 what is happening, is the carbonic acid levels in your aquarium are being neutralized. Carbonic acid is a huge factor in carbonates, as it breaks them apart and this is the reason most aquarists chase Alk. By keeping the PH Close to or slightly above 8.3, stability/ionic balance starts to happen. The bottom line is, the less carbonic acid the more stable everything in your system will be, because you don’t have the negative affects when carbonic acid is in high levels.(low PH) This is the reason my CaRx barely runs and the corals are growing faster than ever. I have some pictures of the ACI Pink Panther that was dragged the day before we started this experiment. I will take pictures today and post them. It is pretty insane what happened in 2 months
@@theideaofclips5481 I plan on taking a picture of my Pink panther Acro that was fragged 1day before I started this. It’s been 8 weeks today and the mother colony had grown back and will need fragged again in a month if it keeps growing. I’ll try to post pictures this weekend
I’ve had chaeto alone bring pH up to almost 9 (with a calibrated probe!) just by removing dissolved CO2. Controlling the fuge light off pH with an apex, I can dial in a rock solid 8.29-8.31
@@aciaquaculture You said that you adjust the carx by adjusting flow. Have you tried running the carx with a steady effluent per second/co2 bubble per second ratio? This way you get a stable effluent kh (preferable 25-30) and prevent dumping in co2 in your aquarium.
Chris, thanks for a great video. I understand that raising the pH in a reef tank encourages skeletal growth of a coral. Does this mean that the skeletal growth happens 24/7 irrespective of the photo period. Are the zooxanthellae specifically for coral tissue growth and higher pH for the CaCO₃ growth?
full strength potassium hydroxide will melt flesh. It's extremely caustic that's why no formula was given in the video. If you would like to try it on your own, knowing the possible risk of damage that this can cause, try contacting Chris @ACI aquaculture on facebook or instagram and he can show you the basics. :) I am trying this right now on 1/4 strength and already am seeing a big difference in the increase of the pH in my aquarium.
@@Reefscom So Ive been doing a little math. Assuming the tank being dosed to was 2000 gallons. If you dosed at 1/3rd solution it would be 120 ml per hour ( 3 ml per min) and at 1/4 it would be 240ml per hour. To scale it to 100 gallons you would dose 12 Ml per hour or 1 ml every 5 min? I'm wondering if the amount dosed was cut further to around 1/8th concentration if we would be able to get dosing on standard aquariums really tight. This issue of PH is only going to increase as time goes on with the amount of CO2 in the air especially for home aquarists and this seems like something that should be tested at a small scale
Amazing video how do your control major increase in potassium ? Also have you considered trialing any of these that I believe would also raise ph ammonium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide (lime) or magnesium hydroxide ? You really have me thinking want to try this
John for more detailed answers, reach out to Chris directly on FB or ig under ACI aquaculture. He will be happy to assist you in any way that he can. :)
I’m sure you talked to your friend about the decision in choosing potassium hydroxide vs sodium hydroxide. I just read an article that discussed how similar they are and how they have many common uses. Can you please share why you chose potassium and do your potassium levels creep up? Or is this just an added benefit of having to dose one less trace element
Hi Jason! I will relay the message to him but in case he forgets, Chris would be able to give you faster response if you reached out directly to his social media handles directly on aci aquaculture on Instagram or on Facebook.:)
Só is him dosing alk with potassium hydroxide? If that's the cade, where's his potassium levels going to? I mean looks like the OH - is reacting with the co2 just like it does with kalk and sodium hydroxide. But now instead dosing Calcium or sodium, it's adding potassium. Different. I would send an ICP test to make sure the potassium isn't going through the roof.
He's not dosing alk with potassium hydroxide. He's dosing cal/alk/mag with calcium reactor and calcium hydroxide. He's constantly testing potassium both manually and through trition. Right now, he has it dialed in at 440-450.
Hi, kinf of and kind of not. Carbon8 aq 8.35 buffers your pH safely to 8.35 while kalk raises the pH (not as stable) and buffs both calcium and alkalinity.
great vids... if you get yourself a college general chemistry text book you can learn all about what you are trying to achieve with this type of method, and the equations to make sure your accurate with your method, also get an analytical chemistry book and you'll learn how to make your own tests with excellent accuracy
The equation is a starting point but the variables keep throwing curve balls. Science is just that science, you need all the variables to get it exact.
Great video! I recently switched my alkalinity supplimemt to sodium hydroxide for similar reasons and it's working out great. Will have to check out potassium hydroxide instead of the potassium chloride I'm already dosing for another boost to my ph. Of course I will do my research first. Thanks again for the great video!
hi Paul, thanks for watching the video! Please please please be extra careful when using this. It's very caustic but it works extremely well. I am on day 3 on this right now and am seeing great results right now.
@@Reefscom I did some more reading and I am going to stick with Randy- Holmes Farley's high ph 2 part using sodium hydroxide and I'm still using kalkwasser on a doser. I have gone through about 3 or 4 gallons so far and seeing improvements in the corals and alkalinity consumption. You are very correct that causion in needed both in mixing and the speed of the dosing. I am mixing 1 gallon at a time with the container in a 5 gallon bucket half filled with water to disapate the heat especially at the bottom of the mixing container. Definetly don't want this stuff on your skin or eyes. As always, love your videos!
Hi I’ve always made a low ph. There’s a lot of people at home😀. I’m already dosing kalk and would like to try this. What’s the calculations you are using. I can’t ask on Facebook or anything else as I don’t have them. Thanks for the info guys👍
Hi, thank you for watching the video and for watching the video! However, I'm really sorry because you will have to find ways to contact Chris as I dont have the exact formula go do so. He premixed mine for me and I diluted it further with his instructions.
If potassium hydroxide will rise potassium in reef tank, maybe sodium hydroxide will resolve the problem since is made with (table salt) they are both almost at the same pH, potassium hydroxide= 13.0 and sodium hydroxide= 14.0. I been using sodium hydroxide to regenerate my GFO, with no problem, sometimes up to 6 times.
I enjoyed the video. This is the first year out of 15 in the hobby that I'm actually monitoring my ph. Now that the house is closed up for the most part first thing in the am I am seeing 7.8 or even 7.7 occasionally and peaking at about 8.0 In the summer if everything is open I can just barely reach 8.3 peak briefly. I understand not wanting to say anything that would hold you liable but to compare potassium hydroxide to muriatic acid is it that much more dangerous? Obviously if you start dripping / dosing this is going to be an on going thing vs acid washing your rocks one time only.
full strength potassium hydroxide will melt flesh. It's extremely caustic that's why no formula was given in the video. To answer your question, I think that this is much more dangerous. If you would like to try it on your own, contact Chris @ACI aquaculture on facebook or instagram and he can show you the basics. :) I am trying this right now on 1/4 strength and already am seeing a big difference in the increase of the pH in my aquarium.
@@tritontr21 i dont know the exact ratio. There is alot of math involved as to mixing from powder to liquid but once that's made, you can add 1 more part of water to dilute it. I'm currently using it in 1/4 of strength. Chris is using it at 1/3 of strength. I don't know the formula unfortunately. You will have to reach out to chris meckley at aci pages in order to get that information.
@@tritontr21 no, i didn't. He had it mixed to 1/3 stregth already and gave me 320ml of it where i added additional 320ml of rodi to make it 1/4 strength. You would need to reach out to chris via fb or ig to findout that formula.
Hi Chris Im useing potasium hidroxid 2 month ago in 3 mixed reef tank! 7liter of Ro with 40ml potasium dry chips!Driping it to a 1000liter tank! Ph only goes up to 8.1 But potasium is sky high 470+ What is your potasium level? All acros-lps looking great but Montiporas started to loog not happy! Whats the highest potasium level with out problem? I look forward to hear from u! Cheers
Seriously ! Why no one understand that you only have to lower co2 in your house/building to get ph at 8.3 constant ??? If co2 is kept low, carbonic acid wont even get into the tank so = high pH !
You are amazing You really are And I do appreciate what you are Doing But that is not possible for at least 90 percent of us And I don’t know when buying Those corals from you Coming to our tank then they Will go done right o way Hope you can figure out A better solution. Thanks
I really love listening to him speak on a subject. Just listening tells you how passionate he is and how much knowledge he has!👍🙏👍
I agree with you. If you have to describe Chris in one word, it would passion.
Thank-you soon much Chris! You've unlocked the biggest reefing secret in this hobby for the past 10years. Pure Genius! When you talk about your "marine scientist" friend, don't you mean tour alter ego?😆 Keep up the good work! I can't wait to see what comes next from you guys.
Hands down the BEST (most informative and inspiring) video I’ve watched it months. The mad scientist in me already looking more into this. Can someone do a livestream so we can all talk more about this. Thank you Chris and Richard!!
It shall be done my friend.
Without watching yet I can say its going to be great video, absolutely love any content involving Chris. Not that other reefs videos are lacking :D
Very interesting, but I am a bit confused on one thing. I hear Chris saying the corals are growing quickly, but having to turn down the calcium reactor doesn't sound like a good sign. Why should everything we know about Ca, Mg, and Alkalinity be thrown out the window? It is no longer the case that faster growing corals are building more skeleton and the system then needs more calcium? At 19:40 I believe there may have been a few side tangents and I may have missed the answer.
From my understanding, hydroxide will raise pH and raise alkalinity upon first introduction. It gets rid of carbonic acid and make with more pH and less c02 in the water. With that said, he teamed up potassium hydroxide with bit more of calcium hydroxide (which gives more calcium and alkalinity) and need of calcium reactor dropped alot and corals are growing at much faster rate with better coloration.
As to throwing way what we know about cal,alk, mag, I think that's personal opinion. I don't think we should literally throw away what we know now but we can add to it. What i think he means is that understanding all these things that are in the water that forms that perfect ionic balance isnt just easy 1,2,3 as it seems in most cases and there are many more variables in between those elements that can help. Keep in mind, he's a mad scientist coral farmer lol.
@reefs "mad scientist coral farmer" is a great thing. I am sure my friends would describe me this way as well. Sucks we can't all sit down at a big conference and chat. I get what you are saying now with the calcium and potassium being added differently now.(I need to get more sleep) I suspect in time trace elements depletion may be a little different. Some of the major elements such as Strontium and Mg may also need boosted.(Mg would be easy just add more media to the reactor or a larger percentage of Mg media versus other calcium reactor media.
@@jongordon3507 he does very specially formulated trace elements in his system and between corals and the algae scrubbers consuming it, it's barely detectable in icp tests. He says that you notice the difference right away when the trace elements are low.
And yes, i miss the shows terribly. :/
@@Reefscom I am curious if Chris is testing for total Alkalinity as an indicator of what may be going on with carbonate alkalinity. Is it possible total Alkalinity was climbing, but carbonate Alkalinity was remaing the same?(until the Calcium reactor was adjusted and then his Carbonates Alkalinity started decreasing)
@@jongordon3507 he was testing for both i believe. I think what he meant that was climbing was carbonate alkalinity though.
Brilliant. One more to add to my science know-how.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and experiences.
You are very welcome and thanks for watching the video!
This is completely true!! I use a co2 scrubber that peeks my PH 8.35 - 8.4 and my growth and alk utilization has been out the roof.. polyp extension and colors are all good. Moral of the story.... chase PH!
Happy to hear that you have been experiencing so much success! In the end, we want what's best for our corals and animals and I'm grateful for those that are experimenting so that we can benefit from it. Yes, let's raise that pH!
Awesome work Chris. I've found the same results with stable pH near 8.3 as well this year after installing a an HRV with a CO2 monitor and still dripping Kalkwasser. pH is important for sure.
Hey Ellery, Richard here. I think we briefly spoke about your setups via facebook. I'm thinking about installing the whole home dehumidifier to reduce humidity and to raise pH.
@@Reefscom I run a portable dehumidifier to maintain at 50%RH year round but that never assisted with raising pH since it just recirculated the hot air back inside. An Air conditioner is basically a dehumidifier as well so I run that 24/7 maintaining 70F year round with the blowers running 24/7 to keep the air circulating throughout the house (mine is a central forced air unit).
From what I read on some HVAC sites the whole home Dehumidifier does not bring in fresh air. What you would need in Florida is an ERV due to your longer cooling season. That would also take the moisture out of the outside fresh air as it is brought into your house. If your house in general has high humidity you may need both. With 500g in my basement everyone says it is surprisingly dry and comfortable with no fishy smell haha!
@@Ellery-USA haha yea i wouls need erv. My humidity is reaching 60 something percent and people have been telling me that was also impacting the pH in negative way. Ah need to straighten this out soon..
I live in Florida and am in the process of installing an ERV right now. I found that at night my co2 levels were peaking around 1200ppm which is crazy high. Not good for our health and not good for keeping stable high PH. Modern homes are built so air tight that mechanical air exchange is a must.
Amazing. I can use the idea of raising my Ph and from there I can adjust everything. And see. Thanks a lot for sharing.
You are very welcome and thanks for watching!
WOW! Great video! Blown away! I know you have a method but is this for beginners? I am not new to reefs but beginners as in dosing kalk? Do I need a huge barrel of water too? I have 3 tanks and wan to start with my small 20g aio first. Ionly have room for possibly a 5 gallon container. I live infl as well so top of by hand. I am fixing to hook up an ato but Dosnt evaporate much. Is it going to work in a tank that dosnt evaporate much? I have no apex but was going to buy a ph controller! is it possible to do in ato water top off I even hand dose my alk and all. But going to buy dosers! I just bough all for reef but got me to thinking about it lowering my ph since I use soda ash which that all got me into looking into different ways to up ph. Very slow growth! Plus teeny tiny frags coming n from CB! lol No way to drill a hole as this tank is in kitchen and long way from any walls to outside! Plus Tampa fl humidity and having lawn sprayed! kalk is the only way being in kitchen and an aio no sump ect!
for small tanks, you do not need one. Depends on what you are keeping. What are your calcium and alkalinity consumption? Depending on the application, you can start with two little fishies' kalk reactor. Dosing kalk with your evaporation using the ATO.
This is the most amazing video! Now I need to go out and get a pH controller and Brightwells pH+ Boost.
Thank you so much Chris and Richard - this will change reefing. BRS did stuff on it but this is next level!
Thanks Sunny for the kind words! I really enjoyed filming this video as well. :)
@@Reefscom No worries... took me a while to watch it as I stopped it and came back to it when I had no disturbances ;)
I measured my pH right after and 8.3... arrrgghhh - guess I don't need it (it was the morning and the lights just turned on). I think the next thing I buy though will be a chea pH monitor/controller - then I got work out how to dose it if it drops - I'm not seeing much growth so I was hoping it was the pH.
@@Reefscom No worries... took me a while to watch it as I stopped it and came back to it when I had no disturbances ;)
I measured my pH right after and 8.3... arrrgghhh - guess I don't need it (it was the morning and the lights just turned on). I think the next thing I buy though will be a chea pH monitor/controller - then I got work out how to dose it if it drops - I'm not seeing much growth so I was hoping it was the pH.
@@sunnygoold9449 no growth may also be associated with p04. Have you checked on that as well? Also, so jealous on your pH levels. Mine right now is at 7.8 at the peak. Slowly ramping up while testing for potassium .
Dont use the ph boost crap...
Amazing video thank you
You are very welcome and thank you for watching it!
What 3/8" needle valve did you choose?
Yes! Kalk will allow the very minimum amount of soda ash to be used and keep the pH very stable in small systems with the combination of the 2, and it is like driving a classic GT! Love the potassium addition.
Thanks very much for sharing. Best to you, man!!
You can make a co2 scrubber with sodium hydroxide.
I tried dripping my kale in my system but I’m running a calcium reactor and my alkalinity keeps rising I have to figure that out my all went fro 9 to 12 in two days had to stop so I have to figure out how long I will need to drop and stop and continue to monitor my system
I'm a process control engineer and this video just gave me so many ideas. I've been considering setting up a scaled down automated tank for proof of concept. There's so much I could do for a commercial operation. All of the process controls I automate are directly applicable to a commercial frag operation. Then I find out I'm only a few miles from ACI Aquaculture in Plant City. I wonder if they give tours? I know where the Apex systems fall short. Way short of what's possible. So many ideas right now! lol
They are usually closed to public but reach out to see what they say! :)
Great vid just need some info now on amount to add to Ro to make a dosing solution 👍
Always down for more Chris
It seems like you could make a solution that would be diluted enough to dose to a standard tank. Could the stuff from Amazon work?
There is no way to know what impurities are in the Amazon product.
What I received was tested for purity and I trust the source.
What are some of the known impurities that come Potassium hydroxide to be concerned about?
I’m sure you could dilute it and have a mass spec test run on it to find out
Thanks Chis!
Amazing video!!
Hey chris. I have 180 gallons of water running a 90 gallon tank. Sumps in basement. How much sodium hydroxide to gallon rodi. Then how much ya start with in mil. Hope to hear from you.
chris is my fave thanks for featuring him , 👍🏽
Amazing
More co2 more alk with kalk depends on what solid the potassium hydroxide is made of might give alk too
Hi! Im not following you. Can you explain that one more time please? :)
( Critical thinking of what You said) when your calcium reactor kicks on it dose co2 to ur tank making ur kalk produce more alk. I don’t believe ur hydroxcides will over exert ur co2 out of the water . It will just add more calcium and not get the benefits of alk.
@@theideaofclips5481 what is happening, is the carbonic acid levels in your aquarium are being neutralized. Carbonic acid is a huge factor in carbonates, as it breaks them apart and this is the reason most aquarists chase Alk.
By keeping the PH Close to or slightly above 8.3, stability/ionic balance starts to happen.
The bottom line is, the less carbonic acid the more stable everything in your system will be, because you don’t have the negative affects when carbonic acid is in high levels.(low PH)
This is the reason my CaRx barely runs and the corals are growing faster than ever.
I have some pictures of the ACI Pink Panther that was dragged the day before we started this experiment.
I will take pictures today and post them.
It is pretty insane what happened in 2 months
ACI Aquaculture thanks for the fast reply. I’m waiting to see the next video and growth video.
@@theideaofclips5481 I plan on taking a picture of my Pink panther Acro that was fragged 1day before I started this.
It’s been 8 weeks today and the mother colony had grown back and will need fragged again in a month if it keeps growing.
I’ll try to post pictures this weekend
Can I mix 10 grams of Potassium Hydroxide flakes in 100 ml ro water and how much I have to dose it? My tank is 90 gallon . PH is 7.9 to 8.12
Hi, please reach out to chris meckley at aci aquaculture page on facebook or on instagram. He may be able to assist you on the formulation.
Glad that is working for you guys! ✅💯👍🏼
Thank you and thank you for watching!
I’ve had chaeto alone bring pH up to almost 9 (with a calibrated probe!) just by removing dissolved CO2.
Controlling the fuge light off pH with an apex, I can dial in a rock solid 8.29-8.31
What about naoh? And why do calcium and carbonates (kh) stay more stable with higher ph?
Less carbonic Acid creates stability
@@aciaquaculture I believe you, I only have limitted chemistry knowledge but would like to know what h2co3 does to ca2+ and co3
Yes it will work but then Na levels will need to be monitored closely. We decided in KOH because a little K is better at higher levels than Na
@@laurens6267 we are still in the beginning stages of figuring out what will happen but so far all positive.
@@aciaquaculture You said that you adjust the carx by adjusting flow. Have you tried running the carx with a steady effluent per second/co2 bubble per second ratio? This way you get a stable effluent kh (preferable 25-30) and prevent dumping in co2 in your aquarium.
Chris, thanks for a great video. I understand that raising the pH in a reef tank encourages skeletal growth of a coral. Does this mean that the skeletal growth happens 24/7 irrespective of the photo period. Are the zooxanthellae specifically for coral tissue growth and higher pH for the CaCO₃ growth?
Hi I will relay this message to Chris for him to answer.
Great info - with the understanding it is at our own risk, is there a recipe you can suggest for the solution, or dosing amount?
full strength potassium hydroxide will melt flesh. It's extremely caustic that's why no formula was given in the video. If you would like to try it on your own, knowing the possible risk of damage that this can cause, try contacting Chris @ACI aquaculture on facebook or instagram and he can show you the basics. :) I am trying this right now on 1/4 strength and already am seeing a big difference in the increase of the pH in my aquarium.
@@Reefscom So Ive been doing a little math. Assuming the tank being dosed to was 2000 gallons. If you dosed at 1/3rd solution it would be 120 ml per hour ( 3 ml per min) and at 1/4 it would be 240ml per hour. To scale it to 100 gallons you would dose 12 Ml per hour or 1 ml every 5 min? I'm wondering if the amount dosed was cut further to around 1/8th concentration if we would be able to get dosing on standard aquariums really tight. This issue of PH is only going to increase as time goes on with the amount of CO2 in the air especially for home aquarists and this seems like something that should be tested at a small scale
@ACI Aquaculture
@@anthonyrodriguez2570 i can't answer for chris but running at 1/4 strength, i can tell you that I'm not runnikg anywhere near that.
@@Reefscom care to enlighten us? :D
Great information Chris! Thing is... Can your frags adapt to our low ph tanks 😢?
Tanks from the ocean adapt to our tanks, how do you think all this stuff started haha
Amazing video how do your control major increase in potassium ? Also have you considered trialing any of these that I believe would also raise ph ammonium hydroxide, calcium hydroxide (lime) or magnesium hydroxide ? You really have me thinking want to try this
John for more detailed answers, reach out to Chris directly on FB or ig under ACI aquaculture. He will be happy to assist you in any way that he can. :)
I’m sure you talked to your friend about the decision in choosing potassium hydroxide vs sodium hydroxide. I just read an article that discussed how similar they are and how they have many common uses. Can you please share why you chose potassium and do your potassium levels creep up? Or is this just an added benefit of having to dose one less trace element
Hi Jason!
I will relay the message to him but in case he forgets, Chris would be able to give you faster response if you reached out directly to his social media handles directly on aci aquaculture on Instagram or on Facebook.:)
Só is him dosing alk with potassium hydroxide? If that's the cade, where's his potassium levels going to?
I mean looks like the OH - is reacting with the co2 just like it does with kalk and sodium hydroxide. But now instead dosing Calcium or sodium, it's adding potassium. Different.
I would send an ICP test to make sure the potassium isn't going through the roof.
He's not dosing alk with potassium hydroxide. He's dosing cal/alk/mag with calcium reactor and calcium hydroxide. He's constantly testing potassium both manually and through trition. Right now, he has it dialed in at 440-450.
Is the carbon8 aq 8.35 an alternative to kalkwasser?
Hi, kinf of and kind of not. Carbon8 aq 8.35 buffers your pH safely to 8.35 while kalk raises the pH (not as stable) and buffs both calcium and alkalinity.
great vids... if you get yourself a college general chemistry text book you can learn all about what you are trying to achieve with this type of method, and the equations to make sure your accurate with your method, also get an analytical chemistry book and you'll learn how to make your own tests with excellent accuracy
The equation is a starting point but the variables keep throwing curve balls.
Science is just that science, you need all the variables to get it exact.
Great video! I recently switched my alkalinity supplimemt to sodium hydroxide for similar reasons and it's working out great. Will have to check out potassium hydroxide instead of the potassium chloride I'm already dosing for another boost to my ph. Of course I will do my research first. Thanks again for the great video!
hi Paul, thanks for watching the video! Please please please be extra careful when using this. It's very caustic but it works extremely well. I am on day 3 on this right now and am seeing great results right now.
@@Reefscom I did some more reading and I am going to stick with Randy- Holmes Farley's high ph 2 part using sodium hydroxide and I'm still using kalkwasser on a doser. I have gone through about 3 or 4 gallons so far and seeing improvements in the corals and alkalinity consumption. You are very correct that causion in needed both in mixing and the speed of the dosing. I am mixing 1 gallon at a time with the container in a 5 gallon bucket half filled with water to disapate the heat especially at the bottom of the mixing container. Definetly don't want this stuff on your skin or eyes. As always, love your videos!
🤷🏻♂️dosing by hand 10 supplements per day, 8 tanks. For 3-4 years. 😃🤔
Wow! That's serious dedication there! Respect!
Hi I’ve always made a low ph. There’s a lot of people at home😀. I’m already dosing kalk and would like to try this. What’s the calculations you are using. I can’t ask on Facebook or anything else as I don’t have them. Thanks for the info guys👍
Hi, thank you for watching the video and for watching the video! However, I'm really sorry because you will have to find ways to contact Chris as I dont have the exact formula go do so. He premixed mine for me and I diluted it further with his instructions.
If potassium hydroxide will rise potassium in reef tank, maybe sodium hydroxide will resolve the problem since is made with (table salt) they are both almost at the same pH, potassium hydroxide= 13.0 and sodium hydroxide= 14.0. I been using sodium hydroxide to regenerate my GFO, with no problem, sometimes up to 6 times.
Ever consider using calcium formate? Far more concentrated than hydroxide and corals love it, the alkalinity is apparently made within the coral
I enjoyed the video. This is the first year out of 15 in the hobby that I'm actually monitoring my ph. Now that the house is closed up for the most part first thing in the am I am seeing 7.8 or even 7.7 occasionally and peaking at about 8.0 In the summer if everything is open I can just barely reach 8.3 peak briefly. I understand not wanting to say anything that would hold you liable but to compare potassium hydroxide to muriatic acid is it that much more dangerous? Obviously if you start dripping / dosing this is going to be an on going thing vs acid washing your rocks one time only.
full strength potassium hydroxide will melt flesh. It's extremely caustic that's why no formula was given in the video. To answer your question, I think that this is much more dangerous. If you would like to try it on your own, contact Chris @ACI aquaculture on facebook or instagram and he can show you the basics. :) I am trying this right now on 1/4 strength and already am seeing a big difference in the increase of the pH in my aquarium.
@@Reefscom what is your solution ratio?
@@tritontr21 i dont know the exact ratio. There is alot of math involved as to mixing from powder to liquid but once that's made, you can add 1 more part of water to dilute it. I'm currently using it in 1/4 of strength. Chris is using it at 1/3 of strength. I don't know the formula unfortunately. You will have to reach out to chris meckley at aci pages in order to get that information.
@@Reefscom so you're not mixing your own? I just needs starting point. Example 1gram to a gallon of RO?
@@tritontr21 no, i didn't. He had it mixed to 1/3 stregth already and gave me 320ml of it where i added additional 320ml of rodi to make it 1/4 strength. You would need to reach out to chris via fb or ig to findout that formula.
So is natural sea water PH peek at 8.3 or is it a minimum of 8.3?
Peaks.
@@Reefscom thanks
@@SDot-dp9xm no problem at all!
Hi Chris
Im useing potasium hidroxid 2 month ago in 3 mixed reef tank!
7liter of Ro with 40ml potasium dry chips!Driping it to a 1000liter tank!
Ph only goes up to 8.1
But potasium is sky high 470+
What is your potasium level?
All acros-lps looking great but Montiporas started to loog not happy!
Whats the highest potasium level with out problem?
I look forward to hear from u!
Cheers
I think iodine was overdosed!
So just what potassium level is safe in aquarium?
Bro give me the info. Did a lot of story telling and I am just here for the step by step of ph stability 😒
Seriously ! Why no one understand that you only have to lower co2 in your house/building to get ph at 8.3 constant ???
If co2 is kept low, carbonic acid wont even get into the tank so = high pH !
Anyone tried sodium hydroxide?
www.reef2reef.com/threads/integrating-the-alkatronic-apex-and-dos-for-stable-alkalinity-and-ph.784144/page-4#post-8395316
That’s what I’ve used.
wyle e coyote super genius
You are amazing
You really are
And I do appreciate what you are
Doing
But that is not possible for at least
90 percent of us
And I don’t know when buying
Those corals from you
Coming to our tank then they
Will go done right o way
Hope you can figure out
A better solution.
Thanks