Aquari

[NatsRams]

I’m always amazed when I see how much of an effect our (3 people and 1 dog) presence in the house has on the aquarium. We left Friday afternoon (March 18). BOOM the pH climbs. When return on Monday it will drop back down to the daily 8-8.15 swing. I wonder how much buffering capacity goes towards the CO2 in the house that we generate and diffuses into the water.

I don’t think I could ever achieve the same effect by pulling outside air to the skimmer because the rest of the air-water interface is not in contact with outside air. We are also not going to open all the windows in Florida. Especially as it warms up.

 

[blaxsun]

It's because the dog stopped peeing in the sump for the weekend.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I don't think you will be able to determine how much CO2 the tank soaks up easily, at least not without setting up a special situation, because even in a tight home there is substantial air turnover from outside that may be even larger.

That said, it is not too difficult to calculate the amount of CO2 taken up or given off by seawater at a given alkalinity with a known pH change.