air line from skimmer to outside

[sergifed91]

not sure if this is the right forum if not please move. I plan on after a successful test of running a test airline from skimmer to the outside. I plan on doing this I weighed my options of either drilling through an outside wall and dealing with also drilling the siding or just replacing a window that I can just easily take off and replace it with acrylic(plexiglass) and drill ***** in the plexiglass and put pvc through and call it that and run the line to the pvc in the window. what size thickness would I need to accomplish this. I know I need to be careful not to break the window. this is a basement window so I want to go a little think but not a half inch either. 1/4th in, 3/8 inch? looking for recommendations on this.

 

[tehmadreefer]

not sure if this is the right forum if not please move. I plan on after a successful test of running a test airline from skimmer to the outside. I plan on doing this I weighed my options of either drilling through an outside wall and dealing with also drilling the siding or just replacing a window that I can just easily take off and replace it with acrylic(plexiglass) and drill ***** in the plexiglass and put pvc through and call it that and run the line to the pvc in the window. what size thickness would I need to accomplish this. I know I need to be careful not to break the window. this is a basement window so I want to go a little think but not a half inch either. 1/4th in, 3/8 inch? looking for recommendations on this.

Waste of time. Run your skimmer and don’t sweat the small stuff.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

Waste of time. Run your skimmer and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Really? You base that comment on what, exactly?

Running a skimmer in high CO2 air can lower pH. Since raising pH is presumably the goal (only reason for an outside airline), I think saying to just run the skimmer is not the most useful answer.

 

[LeftyReefer]

Waste of time. Run your skimmer and don’t sweat the small stuff.

Disagree.

Running an outside airline to my skimmer made a HUGE difference in pH in my tank.
My house is new, wrapped tight, and my tank is in the basement. Doesn't get much fresh air down there, so pH would drop pretty low and would slow coral growth. Now the pH stays pretty steady and things are doing much better since I ran a dedicated air line for the skimmer.

 

[theMeat]

Waste of time. Run your skimmer and don’t sweat the small stuff.

If the air in house where tank is is higher in co2 than it is outside, then running a line from outside will raise your ph.
Another bonus is noise.

 

[theMeat]

not sure if this is the right forum if not please move. I plan on after a successful test of running a test airline from skimmer to the outside. I plan on doing this I weighed my options of either drilling through an outside wall and dealing with also drilling the siding or just replacing a window that I can just easily take off and replace it with acrylic(plexiglass) and drill ***** in the plexiglass and put pvc through and call it that and run the line to the pvc in the window. what size thickness would I need to accomplish this. I know I need to be careful not to break the window. this is a basement window so I want to go a little think but not a half inch either. 1/4th in, 3/8 inch? looking for recommendations on this.

Get a hose that has an inside diameter that fits snug on the outside diameter of the hose on your skimmer.

 

[Johnz]

Get a hose that has an inside diameter that fits snug on the outside diameter of the hose on your skimmer.

Good advice. How thick is your wall? Masonry or wood? What kind if siding? Replacing the window seems like a lot of work instead of just drilling a hole through the wall. You'll also need a screen or something to keep bugs out.

I put a hose that fit tight over my skimmer airhose out the bottom of a slightly opened window. Bonus is the hose is behind the screen. This is temporary until I run something permanent. So it'll prolly be there for years.

 

[theMeat]

Personally would drill through wall. You can do it in an discreet place, like under a windowsill. Make sure to drill the hole on a slight downward angle so any rain that falls onto hose runs out

 

[sergifed91]

Personally would drill through wall. You can do it in an discreet place, like under a windowsill. Make sure to drill the hole on a slight downward angle so any rain that falls onto hose runs out

the hose will be inside. im going to use pvc with a 45 degree angle that shouldn't be a problem.

 

[Steven Garland]

Also,you can run a CO2 scrubber inline near the sump as well,even with media they are under $60 from BRS. Also if you drill a hole thru the wall slightly at a downward angle,you can use outdoor caulk to seal the hole once you clean the outside hole so it sticks well,no moisture gets in and molds the insulation,also seal the inside so no critters venture inside.

 

[jdpiii3]

I have my skimmer setup that way and noticed a quick change.

 

[sergifed91]

Good advice. How thick is your wall? Masonry or wood? What kind if siding? Replacing the window seems like a lot of work instead of just drilling a hole through the wall. You'll also need a screen or something to keep bugs out.

I put a hose that fit tight over my skimmer airhose out the bottom of a slightly opened window. Bonus is the hose is behind the screen. This is temporary until I run something permanent. So it'll prolly be there for years.

the dt is in my basement. i plan on replacing the window since I am taking the windows out and resealing them in a week or two. they need to be resealed there seal is cracking and falling off. so since im doing that I might as well just do it through the glass.

 

[ying yang]

Me personally if was going run small hose to outside, would just drill slightly larger hole than hose through my window frame itself,obviously not to close to where glass maybe inside off frame and drill through/crack glass

 

[Steve2020]

the dt is in my basement. i plan on replacing the window since I am taking the windows out and resealing them in a week or two. they need to be resealed there seal is cracking and falling off. so since im doing that I might as well just do it through the glass.

This may be more info than you need but I thought I would give you an option instead of poking a hole in your house. Since your DT is in the basement and I am assuming your furnace and or air conditioner is also in the basement and if so that would mean you have a fresh air return. My DT is also in my lower level and I ran a 5/8" OD 1/2" ID hose 60ft in length from my fresh air return to my skimmer. You would need to insert a small piece of 1/2" OD 3/8" ID hose into the into the bigger hose to fit the Skimmer air input. This increased my PH from 7.8 to 8.0-8.1 depending on the season here in Minnesota. Some people will call BS on weather affecting PH but if you live in the northern states, plants that normally absorb CO2 in the warm months will release CO2 in the cold months. I did not no this until I did some research to figure out why my PH was lower in the winter by about .05-.1. To combat this I added a BRS Dual Jumbo CO2 Media Reactor hooked up in a recirc configuration with my skimmer. I have both the skimmer and fresh air tied into the CO2 media reactor and my PH is now 8.35-8.4 during the day and 8.28-8.33 during the night. I have a electronic ball valve that is hooked up to my Profilux 4 that will open at a PH of 8.4 and will close when PH hits 3.5. I did this because I did not want to allow a PH of greater than 8.4. When the weather is nice and the windows and sliding door is open in the lower level I disconnect the recirc function to the skimmer and allow the skimmer to pull atmosphere air.

 

[CK00020]

Does anyone have frost issues in below zero temps, this has been keeping me from hooking my skimmer to the outside.

 

[Derrick0580]

Good advice. How thick is your wall? Masonry or wood? What kind if siding? Replacing the window seems like a lot of work instead of just drilling a hole through the wall. You'll also need a screen or something to keep bugs out.

I put a hose that fit tight over my skimmer airhose out the bottom of a slightly opened window. Bonus is the hose is behind the screen. This is temporary until I run something permanent. So it'll prolly be there for years.

I ran mine like this…goes through an ro canister with carbon to filter the incoming air, and then over through a co2 scrubber….complete waste of time. Saw ZERO increase of ph. Running a reef octo regal 200 sss on a 120 gallon tank so definitely not undersized skimmer.

 

[RabidDragon]

I ran my outside skimmer air line down the inside of the wall from the attic. It exits the wall thru an electrical outlet box which is directly behind my tank. I had to drill a hole in the electrical outlet faceplate for it to exit here. This means that all I have to do is replace the electrical outlet faceplate which costs about 1$ to hide the fact it was ever there if I wanted to remove it... no additional holes in the wall.

 

[sergifed91]

This may be more info than you need but I thought I would give you an option instead of poking a hole in your house. Since your DT is in the basement and I am assuming your furnace and or air conditioner is also in the basement and if so that would mean you have a fresh air return. My DT is also in my lower level and I ran a 5/8" OD 1/2" ID hose 60ft in length from my fresh air return to my skimmer. You would need to insert a small piece of 1/2" OD 3/8" ID hose into the into the bigger hose to fit the Skimmer air input. This increased my PH from 7.8 to 8.0-8.1 depending on the season here in Minnesota. Some people will call BS on weather affecting PH but if you live in the northern states, plants that normally absorb CO2 in the warm months will release CO2 in the cold months. I did not no this until I did some research to figure out why my PH was lower in the winter by about .05-.1. To combat this I added a BRS Dual Jumbo CO2 Media Reactor hooked up in a recirc configuration with my skimmer. I have both the skimmer and fresh air tied into the CO2 media reactor and my PH is now 8.35-8.4 during the day and 8.28-8.33 during the night. I have a electronic ball valve that is hooked up to my Profilux 4 that will open at a PH of 8.4 and will close when PH hits 3.5. I did this because I did not want to allow a PH of greater than 8.4. When the weather is nice and the windows and sliding door is open in the lower level I disconnect the recirc function to the skimmer and allow the skimmer to pull atmosphere air.

I never have a problem in the winter. theres always a breeze outside that time of year. but this month has been brutle on the ph on my tank. no wind equals low ph. I could do a co2 scrubber but I want a more permanate solution that buying co2 media. this is the more reasonable route. and as far as winter. my house is an older house with the original windows. all withe single glass and not 3 layer glass and etc. so yeah its old

 

[Steve2020]

Does anyone have frost issues in below zero temps, this has been keeping me from hooking my skimmer to the outside.

Not with my setup above. In fact the cooler air in the winter has time to warm up due to the length of my hose and mixing with skimmer recirc air before enters the skimmer.

 

[tehmadreefer]

Really? You base that comment on what, exactly?

Running a skimmer in high CO2 air can lower pH. Since raising pH is presumably the goal (only reason for an outside airline), I think saying to just run the skimmer is not the most useful answer.

On the fact co2 levels in a home are at such low concentrations that it’s an insignificant detriment to a tank and usually more hassle than the work is worth.