Air conditioning and PH

Miller535

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Doesn't a furnace suck air into the house. Unlike AC that cools the same air, the furnace uses house air then expels the combustion gases through the flue and heats the house via a heat exchanger.

New air has to come from someplace. It's gotta come from drafts and ever time a door is opened.

Edit: @Miller535 beat me to it

I think a furnace does both. Your furnace definitely recycles are also and uses your houses cold air returns, but it also brings in fresh air also. It has to when it's exhausting itself.
 

((FORDTECH))

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neither a furnace or an ac system sucks air into the house. Unless we are talking about threw cracks in your walls and drafts from under your doors. But that’s not by design in the system. All it does is recycle air. And the air always goes threw the same path which is threw the a coil which is ac and past the burner. And next the vent is used to exhaust co2 from the gases burned when furnace is running it has nothing to do with bringing air into house. Think about it why would anyone want there ac to draw in hot air from outside or cold air while heat is running it dont makes sense like I said a central ac and heating system is one unit and only recycles air does not draw air in from outside
 

Silver14SS

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neither a furnace or an ac system sucks air into the house. Unless we are talking about threw cracks in your walls and drafts from under your doors. But that’s not by design in the system. All it does is recycle air. And the air always goes threw the same path which is threw the a coil which is ac and past the burner. And next the vent is used to exhaust co2 from the gases burned when furnace is running it has nothing to do with bringing air into house. Think about it why would anyone want there ac to draw in hot air from outside or cold air while heat is running it dont makes sense like I said a central ac and heating system is one unit and only recycles air does not draw air in from outside

 

GK3

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So I’ve searched some older post on this subject and couldn’t find a really good answer. So figured I’d bring it up again. I have fairly new construction home. My tank is only a few months old. The ac has just started kicking on and noticed a drastic drop in my ph. Was around 8.2 during the day, now is at 7.75 at night and 7.9 during the day. What causes this with the ac coming on and what are best ways to deal with this? Looking into a co2 scrubber, good idea or bad?
It’s not so much the AC as it is you and anyone else breathing. AC on means windows closed so all of the CO2 you exhale is stuck in your house and gets into your tank. This lowers ph. As others have said, try a scrubber on your skimmer air intake or plumb the intake to outside.
 

((FORDTECH))

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Thank you for the read but I have a conventional furnace

9F7D1C9B-78BB-4947-91B6-12E25F84C112.png
 

((FORDTECH))

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So I take back saying no furnace draws air into house I’m sorry. I should have said mine does not
 

((FORDTECH))

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I was using heat and went from heat to ac and experience this ph drop and I’m saying in my heat and ac system there is no change in any air from outside
 

((FORDTECH))

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I’m being told it’s the change in co2 level causing this but how is co2 Level being changed in a closed system. I can understand humidity can play a role but again I run a whole house dehumidifier 24/7 at same setting and it works very well.
 

((FORDTECH))

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This is where I’m at now notice how small my swing usta be on 24th and before and how unstable now

D459A343-F9B8-4CF4-BE79-8FA4D2AA595F.png
 

austibella

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every morning I wake up I open my shades and open my doors even though my A/C runs 24/7. I leave the fresh air from outside come into my house for about 15 minutes while I make my coffee.. I do this every morning even though it is hotter then hell in the south. I do it for my fish and I do not have a problem with PH. just open your windows and or doors while you make your coffee your tanks will love it. no need for expensive equipment when nature is free....
 

Brian_68

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If you have a older / less efficient furnace in the 85% range it pulls in combustion air from the outside causing higher air exchanges and lower CO2 in the house, the higher efficiency furnaces do not as they have air intake and exhaust piping for combustion gases independently.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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i want a different Explanation lol I’ll link my air-conditioning and PH thread if you guys wanna read it

Unless you tie kalkwasser or other high pH additive to evaporation via an ato, there is no other effect on pH from AC or humidity other than changes in CO2 levels (also assumes the tank temperature is not significantly lower when the AC clicked on)

No matter what you measure, there cannot be any other explanation since pH is determined mathematically by CO2 in the water and the carbonate alkalinity.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I was using heat and went from heat to ac and experience this ph drop and I’m saying in my heat and ac system there is no change in any air from outside

You do not know that, and it is likely untrue.

The temperature difference between inside and outside drives convection of air though a home with closed windows and makes a big difference that you do not see.


" In most houses, the amount of air that enters the house increases when it’s windy and cold. When it’s warm outside, the stack effect is much weaker or reverses. "
 

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Running reverse lighting is meant to stabilize PH, if it's already low you can try running the fuge longer, but you risk tanking nutrients. If this is the case I would check into the other ways of raising PH.

Just a tip I’ve figured out, if you runt 8 on, 4 off 6 on 6 off you can get more growth out of your algae. Plants also need a “rest” period to efficiently perform photosynthesis. In my earlier days of reefer, I kept my lights on 24 hours per day and had little to no growth. When I switched a 12 / 12 schedule, I suddenly got decent growth.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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Just a tip I’ve figured out, if you runt 8 on, 4 off 6 on 6 off you can get more growth out of your algae. Plants also need a “rest” period to efficiently perform photosynthesis. In my earlier days of reefer, I kept my lights on 24 hours per day and had little to no growth. When I switched a 12 / 12 schedule, I suddenly got decent growth.

Certainly may be true for some situations, but I too experimented with various lighting schedules and did not find 24/7 to be noticeably different growth of caulerpa racemosa than with dark periods.

I ultimately went with some dark periods just to save money, and to focus O2 production and CO2 consumption at night, when I think both are needed most.
 

radsdad

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So I’ve searched some older post on this subject and couldn’t find a really good answer. So figured I’d bring it up again. I have fairly new construction home. My tank is only a few months old. The ac has just started kicking on and noticed a drastic drop in my ph. Was around 8.2 during the day, now is at 7.75 at night and 7.9 during the day. What causes this with the ac coming on and what are best ways to deal with this? Looking into a co2 scrubber, good idea or bad?
What type of heat source does your furnace use?
 

karimstolen

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I stumbled upon this thread and thought I'd share some thoughts. It's interesting that you've noticed a drop in pH when your AC kicks on. HVAC systems can sometimes affect the pH of your water due to condensation and air circulation. Using a CO2 scrubber could potentially help maintain a stable pH level, but it's always good to do some research and get advice from experts.
 

Randy Holmes-Farley

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I stumbled upon this thread and thought I'd share some thoughts. It's interesting that you've noticed a drop in pH when your AC kicks on. HVAC systems can sometimes affect the pH of your water due to condensation and air circulation. Using a CO2 scrubber could potentially help maintain a stable pH level, but it's always good to do some research and get advice from experts.

Welcome to reef2Reef!

I certainly agree that circulating the air around the house may alter the CO2 level in a given room (could be up or down depending on which rooms have the strongest sources of CO2), but how do you propose that condensation in an air conditioner might impact aquarium pH?
 
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