PH and outside air?

[schigara]

Is anyone piping outside air into their skimmer and what long term effects have you seen on PH?

My PH at 10am before lights came on was usually 7.88 and then at 8PM when halides go off the PH would get as high as 8.1.

I started pulling outside air into the skimmer yesterday and this morning at 10AM the PH was 7.98 and now at 4PM it is 8.15 and by 8PM I am guessing it will reach 8.2 or even higher.

Is it reasonable to think after a week or so my PH range from 8.2-8.3?


Ca 450
ALK 9.6dkh
Mag 1340
Nitrate <5ppm
Phostphate undetectable

 

[chadmace]

Do you have some sort of air filter on the end of the air feed line so you dont pull any unwanted stuff from the air outside. I have neighbors that bbq and such and dont think the tank would like the fumes from that. (Or many other things.)

 

[schigara]

Not yet. I had thought about that and my biggest worry is when the city sprays for mosqitos.

I will put some kind of carbon filter on it.

Any ideas of what would work well? The tubing going outside is 1/2 ID vinyl.

 

[edwing206]

I read that it will keep pH up, especially if it is cold out side. But like Chad mentioned it MUST have something filtering the air before it's drawn in.

 

[pepperjack]

My skimmer has been sucking outside air for about 3 months. Ph was running 7.8ish and now 8.3ish. The first 2 weeks had the most changes. Keep in mind i'm using a BM-250 which sucks alot of air.

 

[schigara]

Sweet. I run a modded Octopus NW200 skimmer.

It's 7pm now and the PH is rockin between 8.21 and 8.22, i'm lovin' it!

Pepperjack, If you have SPS, did you notice increased growth rates since getting the PH up?

My skimmer has been sucking outside air for about 3 months. Ph was running 7.8ish and now 8.3ish. The first 2 weeks had the most changes. Keep in mind i'm using a BM-250 which sucks alot of air.

 

[MC Lighting]

would a carbon can be enough for the air to filtered by I would worry about pest sprays and that type of thing more than anything else I have been considering doing this myself.

 

[pepperjack]

I started adding sps about the same time so can't compare growth rate.

As for as a filter i'm only using the cotton filled silencer on the skimmer for now. I was thinking the same thing, a can with carbon to filter air with a/c filter material before that.

 

[pepperjack]

Also i'm using 3/4 id vinyl tubing and the filter can i make will probably be as big as a gal can to insure that the skimmer air won't be restricted and cause the skimmer to not run correctly

 

[OldFishMan]

Hello;

It is hard to tell the exact amount of CO2 in the air where the tank is located without a meter. There is a lot less CO2 in the air than O2, so it takes longer to establish full equilibrium with the surrounding air (inside or outside) where CO2 is concerned.

Here is an article with some more information:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/index.php

Further, I use vinegar when I mix my Kalk --- Bacteria feeds on the vinegar and produces OH which mixes with some of my excess CO2 at night. My Alkalinity is high in the morning and my PH is more stable.

Further reading is advised and I offer all the following link:

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-01/rhf/index.php#6

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If it broke down last month and you have not gotten around to repairing it, you may not need it!"

"OFM"
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Enjoy!

OFM

 

[mark peacock]

I did not think that this was true but i could not get my ph highier than 7.8 and then when the weather had change from cold to warm opened a window and wow my ph goes to 8.4 and lowest at 8.1 when lights off in the morning strange .mark

 

[Highland Reefer]

Hi all. I'm brand new to this forum. I have piped outside air into my skimmer and I know of others who have done this with extremely high draw skimmers and have not had any benefits from this. Others that I know, say they have had benefits. One other thing you can try if you have not at this point, is to install a refugium with macro algae with the lights on a reverse cycle from the main tank.

The weather in Maryland has been kind of nice and I have had my windows open lately. The Ph was doing fine until this weekend, when I had a bunch of relatives over and my pH dropped during the day. I guess when you get to many people in the house their respiration is more than the windows can handle. Go figure.

 

[DonW]

1 cubic foot = approx. 28.3 liters Even the biggest baddest skimmer cant pull enough air in from the outside to effect ph by much of anything.

Don

 

[Highland Reefer]

One other thing that may help pH swings: Keep your dkh up close to 11.

 

[schigara]

I beg to differ.

No outside air for skimmer

7.88-8.10

Outside air for skimmer

8.08-8.25

Have you ever actually tried it or just assumed, in theory, it wouldn't work?

People told Howard Hughes the Spruce Goose would never fly too!

1 cubic foot = approx. 28.3 liters Even the biggest baddest skimmer cant pull enough air in from the outside to effect ph by much of anything.

Don

 

[DonW]

Tried it many times including a skimmed that pushed four cfm. This isnt anything new.

 

[schigara]

Sorry it didn't work for you. I'm sure it's just like anything else, different setups and conditions and what works for someone might not work at all for someone else.

I never would have believed it until I tried it myself and when I did, I saw the increase in PH that I did.

Does your PH rise when you open the windows in your house? If the O2 and Co2 levels inside are fairly close to what's is outside, then I'm sure not much difference would would be seen. My house is fairly small and pretty airtight and with 2 heavy smokers, I'm sure the Co2 levels in my house are much higher than outside air.

When I saw my morning PH rise from 7.88 to 8.08 with the only change being outside air source for the skimmer, I was no longer skeptical.

Tried it many times including a skimmed that pushed four cfm. This isnt anything new.

 

[DonW]

I would have to question how long this has worked for you. Has it worked over the course of an entire year over the entire course of seasons. Many folks including myself have tried this for many years. The two best courses of action for high co2 home is to either increase surface area, not the easist. Second is to seal the tank hood and stand as tight as possible and duct large inlets from the outside and a powered exhaust back to the outside. This way the tank never has to rely on the co2 laiden air inside your home. My house has severe co2 issues due to the ventless propane heat which burns a large portion of the oxygen leaving co2 as a by product. I use the larger surface area option by default with my zeroedge tank design but battled co2 on every other thank I owned over the years.

Don

 

[schigara]

It's only been less than 2 weeks. Are you saying it's normal to see a PH rise of .2 for few weeks to months and then it will go back to what it was before?

 

[CCR]

My opinion. If it works for you. That's Great. Keep it up

An interesting idea I may try