Hi Fred,
I have a 180 reef ready and had many of the same issues.
Please search for any threads THAT I HAVE INITIATED as most revolve around getting better c02. A brief summary of changes I have made:
1. Cover the open areas of the sump. Duct tape, etc. This will help.
2. Raise the water levels in the overflow boxes. The waterfall effect in here is driving the c02 right on out..........This will also reduce noise
3. Get/build a better reactor and a larger pump to drive the reactor. Add a venturi loop.
4. Run the outlet of your reactor to the intake side of the pump back to the tank.
5. Get a drop checker to help determine your levels of c02 in the tank. BPS is a crude measurement.
If you do some reading on past threads, you will see the answers to many of your questions.
Quote:
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Natural p.h of my water is approx between 7.4-7.6, DH is 4. My pH running cO2 is about 7.0, but I am running 5 bubbles per second, and with that rate, I would think my CO2 should be higher.
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Keep in mind that overflows and a trickle filter are big 02 generators and will drive out a lot of c02. 5 BPS is not really that much for the type of setup you have.
Hope this helps a bit. Good luck.