will running a skimmer line outside yield stable pH through the night?

[leonardomanzano]

I plan on connecting an airline from my skimmer to the outside, will doing this provide me with a stable pH?
The pH drops happen at night when I close my window, I left my window partly open for a few days and it didn't drop as much (skimmer off)
I mostly leave my skimmer on during the day to help take in the fresh air but what if I flipped the cycle and had it running in the night while it pulls air from outside
would my pH swings be way smaller if I did this?

right now my set up is very basic
- 20 gallon long
- 20 gallon sump
- reef octopus 150 int (overkill I know but my smaller skimmer kicked the bucket, mainly used for air exchange)
- return pump

No macro algae or chemical filtration at the moment

tank only has 3 main inhabitants
2 clown fish (currently in the sump, they were rough with a torch and nearly killed it)
1 banggai cardinal

 

[tsharpe291]

I plan on connecting an airline from my skimmer to the outside, will doing this provide me with a stable pH?
The pH drops happen at night when I close my window, I left my window partly open for a few days and it didn't drop as much (skimmer off)
I mostly leave my skimmer on during the day to help take in the fresh air but what if I flipped the cycle and had it running in the night while it pulls air from outside
would my pH swings be way smaller if I did this?

right now my set up is very basic
- 20 gallon long
- 20 gallon sump
- reef octopus 150 int (overkill I know but my smaller skimmer kicked the bucket, mainly used for air exchange)
- return pump

No macro algae or chemical filtration at the moment

tank only has 3 main inhabitants
2 clown fish (currently in the sump, they were rough with a torch and nearly killed it)
1 banggai cardinal

I have mine hooked up to the outside and my ph is stable at 8.1/8.3

 

[leonardomanzano]

I have mine hooked up to the outside and my ph is stable at 8.1/8.3

Nice! Are you able to send a graph of your pH levels?
are the swings small? do they happen consistently?

 

[Jamie814]

Here's what my 500 gallon looks like with the windows open the whole time, skimmer 24/7. (Weather has been good here the past week) Currently working in setting up are large refuge with the same amount of live rock (surface area) as display that I am going to run on the opposite lighting as my display to see how stable I can get the pH.

 

[leonardomanzano]

Here's what my 500 gallon looks like with the windows open the whole time, skimmer 24/7. (Weather has been good here the past week) Currently working in setting up are large refuge with the same amount of live rock (surface area) as display that I am going to run on the opposite lighting as my display to see how stable I can get the pH.

Nice! when did you start doing this?
Has coral growth and alk use increased by a noticeable amount since you started?

 

[Jamie814]

Nice! when did you start doing this?
Has coral growth and alk use increased by a noticeable amount since you started?

I always keep the windows open as much as possible when temps allow. When they are shut ph often runs about 8.1-8.2 or about .1 lower average. I do see a uptick in alk/ca consumption about 20ml more per day when windows are open. You can see on Sept 6th windows were shut. Even today you can see pH peaked a bit lower, it was cooler here and not all windows were open, and it was noticeable on the pH.

 

[cilyjr]

Short answer is no. You will still have a diurnal pH swing.
Running it outside can sometimes help raise the overall pH. But in my experience even that has been very little change.

 

[Jamie814]

Short answer is no. You will still have a diurnal pH swing.
Running it outside can sometimes help raise the overall pH. But in my experience even that has been very little change.

I agree the ambient co2 around the tank has the biggest natural effect. Two tanks plumbed together of equal size and bioactivity but on opposite lighting schedules should reduce the daily swings, but the overall pH is still very much affected by the co2 in the air around the tank. Drawing air from outside for the skimmer does not reduce the free co2 in the air around the tank which is still absorbed through surface agitation from powerheads.

 

[theMeat]

Doubtful it will stabilize ph unless you only run skimmer at night. Would think ph drops when lights go off.
With that said if the co2 in your house is higher than outside your ph will increase with air line to outside. Again, don’t see it helping much, if at all with swings

 

[cilyjr]

Two tanks plumbed together of equal size and bioactivity but on opposite lighting schedules should reduce the daily swings,

This.
And I'm not talking about another 20 gallon tank with a fist size ball of cheatiomorpha.
We're talking two tanks with similar bioloads.

 

[tsharpe291]

Nice! Are you able to send a graph of your pH levels?
are the swings small? do they happen consistently?

Small in my opinion

 

[exnisstech]

I don't monitor pH but I did decide to test a while back. The tank in our bedroom was dropping down to 7.9 over night with 2 adults and 2 dogs in the room. I ran an air line from the skimmer up to the attic that is isolated from the living area and vented. pH now stays at 8.3 over night so it definately made a difference for me.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

Running a line outside wont stabilize the PH, but it should raise it. The PH will still drop at night when the lights are out. Before I ran my skimmer line outside I was getting 7.8 at night and 8.0 during the day. Since I ran my skimmer line outside I am now getting 8.1 at night and 8.3 during the day.

If you want to stabilize your PH you can try dosing kalk when the lights are off. This is a common method for people who dose kalk to maintain steady PH.

 

[rmcrom]

Running a line outside wont stabilize the PH, but it should raise it. The PH will still drop at night when the lights are out. Before I ran my skimmer line outside I was getting 7.8 at night and 8.0 during the day. Since I ran my skimmer line outside I am now getting 8.1 at night and 8.3 during the day.

If you want to stabilize your PH you can try dosing kalk when the lights are off. This is a common method for people who dose kalk to maintain steady PH.

What size tubing did you use?

 

[Gill the 3rd]

What size tubing did you use?

Same size as my skimmer inlet. My line was a 3/8 ID. I ran it about 30 ft to the outside and its been working great.