What Would Be The Result Of......

Sometimes I dose Kent Marine's Pro-buffer DKH, which contains; carbonate, bicarbonate, sulfate and borate salts with trace minerals. I also dose Kalk at night to keep the ph around 7.9 to 8.0, if I dont dose Kalk, my ph hits around 7.7 to 7.8. Luna
BTW, I will PM you with more details of the age of my tank.

 

Can this source of borate be found using Borax 20 Mule Team Laundry Booster?

 

Yes, 20 Mule Team is 100% Borax (a naturally occurring mineral composed of sodium, boron, oxygen and water). Here's a link that will tell you all about boron/borate/borax

Rio Tinto Borax : About Borax : Vital Statistics

More info:

Raising your pH

 

Thats fine I'm pretty sure that I know exactly where you are at with the problem, Been there a few times myself, My last tank in Va. is right at 9yr old and my son is telling me the same thing today that he is seeing the Ph meter swing up and down , I told him to check for Stray Voltage to eliminate that as a problem and to stop it from tweaking the meter and then to add some borate if needed I have a bag always near by and maybe the ground probe is bad or pulled from the sump ? Its been done before

 

Ok Tangster, I did the glass of water with an air stone in it test and the results are in. I tested the water in the glass and from the tank and there was a big difference. The tank water was 8.0 and the glass water was 8.4 and that was just 2-3 hrs outside. What I dont understand is I did place a air pump outside for 4 weeks and that didnt change a thing. So what should I do? Whats my next step to achieve the 8.4 in my tank? Luna

 

One more thing, the temp between the tank and the glass of water is big. The tank is 77-78 and the glass of water is 83-84. Luna

 

Huum thats what I thought , What is on the tanks top glass tops or tight fitting hood or is is it open ? Do you or does anyone smoke in the house ? I have spent lots of time in your area offshore racing for 12 yrs and I know how closed up homes are there .. I would look for a really good air pump and put several air stones into the sump and see what that does for you over a few weeks then its on to removing the sand ? and maybe rocks if you can not drive the CO2 out of the system.. Its fixable just have to find the source of the CO2 and then remove it and the CO2's. I run a luft multi port

I'd get me a Luft Super pump and run several air stones 4 or 5 into the sump Do you or anyone smoke in there ? You have to drive the CO2 out of the water . Air stones seem to have falling by the wayside over the last 1 to 20 yrs seems they are low tec or to old school ? I run 2 large air bars or blocks ? Finer the bubble and the more air PSI the better .

You first have to drive the CO2's out of the water first then go from there . You may be looking at replacing the sand and even rocks at some point if the air will not fix the problem .. But it all came down to CO'2s and they have to be off gassed asap to increase the Ph. get a fan on the sump so the gas will be moved out from the sump and more fresh air can get in there. The outside air is what you need also right at the moment thats good you just need more of it. Larger pump and more air stones STAT! Do you use a Ca reactor and CO2 by chance ?

P.S I just read the last post but That temp difference just reinforces my suspicions of saturated CO2's if the tank is that much cooler then it should hold far more oxygen then the water 8 or so Degrees warmer saltwater hold far less gas of any type at temps about F. You just have to replace the gasses in the tanks water with oxygen .

 

None of my tanks has ever had a cover, I dont like covers. No one smokes in the house. Yeah my house is closed up almost all year round, I cant just open a window. So I should get an air pump with some air stoes. Should the AP be outside? When you say 4-5 air stones, do you mean 2 in the DT and 3 in the sump? How would you divide the outlets(stones)? Luna

BTW, do you have a link for that Luft Super pump? I do have a Whisper 60, which has 2 outlets.

 

Finally I can help my mentors ;D

Be very careful putting the Air pump outside. One close spray from pest control or fertilizing guy and you could see a lot of Dead Everything.

 

Great point, but I dont spray fertilizer on my yard or any other chemicals and the pump wouldnt be anywhere near a neighbor's. Thanks for the thought thou. Luna