Just a simple question regarding the airline. My tank is close to my maintenance room where my furnace and water heater are. I have a large 8" pipe that brings in fresh air from the outside into the room. I was thinking I could use a 1" PVC pipe and just put the end of it in this pipe in order to provide fresh air to my skimmer. Any reason why that would not work vs putting it directly outside? I can feel cold air rushing in down this fresh air pipe in the winter, not sure about the summer but it seems like this would be the same as going directly outside. Thanks for the thoughts. My tank is in my basement. PH typically ranges from 7.9-8.1 or so. When I open the house up it goes higher. Thinking if allow fresh air to my skimmer maybe I can keep it from dropping below 8.
Plumb Skimmer Airline Outside
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I don’t have an educated answer for this but was wondering if the air coming in is bringing in anything that you would not want in your system, like car exhaust, dust, lawn fertilizer, pesticide?
Hmm. Maybe more of an HVAC tech will chime in, but I was under the assumption that high efficiency furnaces only bring in outside air when turned on for venting purposes. During the summer, there shouldn't be any air coming in. HVAC systems are closed systems. Return vent to furnace/condenser, out to your home heat/air vents.
I'd be more concerned about the pressure switches in the furnace. The furnace has a safety air pressure check valve and any change in pressure within the furnace will automatically turn it off. Air will actually flow from the skimmer to your furnace, when the furnace is on and definitely not the result you'd be looking for...
I'd be more concerned about the pressure switches in the furnace. The furnace has a safety air pressure check valve and any change in pressure within the furnace will automatically turn it off. Air will actually flow from the skimmer to your furnace, when the furnace is on and definitely not the result you'd be looking for...
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Randy Holmes-Farley
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The simple answer is to do my aeration test in this room vs indoor and outdoor air and compare the pH values to see if it is suitably low in CO2:
pH And The Reef Aquarium
http://www.reefedition.com/ph-and-the-reef-aquarium/
The Aeration Test
Some of the possible causes of low pH listed above require an effort to diagnose. Problems 3 and 4 are quite common, and here is a way to distinguish them. Remove a cup of tank water and measure its pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. Its pH should rise if it is unusually low for the measured alkalinity (Figure 2). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If its pH also rises, then the aquarium’s pH will rise simply with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise in the cup (or rises very little) when aerating with indoor air, then that air likely contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should). Be careful implementing this test if the outside aeration test results in a large temperature change (more than 5°C or 10°F), because such changes alone impact pH measurements.
pH And The Reef Aquarium
http://www.reefedition.com/ph-and-the-reef-aquarium/
The Aeration Test
Some of the possible causes of low pH listed above require an effort to diagnose. Problems 3 and 4 are quite common, and here is a way to distinguish them. Remove a cup of tank water and measure its pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. Its pH should rise if it is unusually low for the measured alkalinity (Figure 2). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If its pH also rises, then the aquarium’s pH will rise simply with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise in the cup (or rises very little) when aerating with indoor air, then that air likely contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should). Be careful implementing this test if the outside aeration test results in a large temperature change (more than 5°C or 10°F), because such changes alone impact pH measurements.
nick7948
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I haven't had a need to run a tube from outside but I did read a discussion (I think on this site) from someone that had an issue after his roads were repaved. I don't recall exactly how much he lost but seem to remember it being a lot of his acropora.
Last week was nice out. The fish tank is in the basement. Had the house open for 2 days and ph maxed out around 8.3. Before the. It was around 7.9-8.1 swing. So I might as well try the fresh air to the skimmer. Really not that expensive to try.
I live in the country, not to worried about random pesticides and such. I started on it this afternoon using 1” pvc for 98% of the run. It is maybe 30 total feet with several 90 degree bends. Is 1” big enough to allow for the skimmer to still pull air? Also the regarding pvc cement. I assume let it off gas for a couple days? Not sure it’s different with water vs air.
I live in the country, not to worried about random pesticides and such. I started on it this afternoon using 1” pvc for 98% of the run. It is maybe 30 total feet with several 90 degree bends. Is 1” big enough to allow for the skimmer to still pull air? Also the regarding pvc cement. I assume let it off gas for a couple days? Not sure it’s different with water vs air.
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Connected my skimmer to the outside line last night. We will see what it does in a few days. It sure would be nice if it is anything like when the house is open. I do have my HVAC guy coming to look at possibly installing an ERV.
ActualProof
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How did this end up working for you?
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