How to control tank Ph with ambient air changes?

[Reefer1978]

I am of course aware of the sprint/fall weather changes, and I am pretty careful not to introduce too many chances to the house so the tank doesn't get a huge Ph swing. But every once in a while the tank still reacts drastically to the air quality changes and I am wondering if theres anything I can do to better control it.

A few weeks ago we had another couple visit our house for dinner (household of 5, so this evening we had 2 extra adults, total of 7 breathing animals outside of the tank). They were here for a few hours, overnight the tank Ph dropped by an extra .1 to a new low of 7.7 (usual daily swing is 8.02-7.82). This kicked my failsafe on calcium reactor, and it didn't turn on again until next day afternoon.

Yesterday was a very nice day in NY, and we opened the patio door for 3-4 hours. Overnight my Ph stayed at 8.03 the whole night, no overnight down swing what so ever. I am pretty sure mid-day today it's going to be close to 8.2 - 8.3.

So my question: what can we do to control impact of house air changes on the tank itself?

 

[Mark Taber]

Following

 

[Fitzreefer]

Your pH range isn't all too bad. If you want to raise it and keep it more stable you can affix an outside air intake or CO2 scrubber to your skimmer air intake. If you have a fuge, you can do an inverse light routine.

 

[roberthu526]

CO2 scrubber works great if you can't direct your skimmer air intake to the outside

 

[Fitzreefer]

This is a good article:. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/#a

 

[Reefer1978]

This is a good article:. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-09/rhf/#a

It's a great read indeed, one of the first articles I read years ago. I understand why it's happening, I am just looking for ways to deal with it.

Co2 scrubber I don't want to do, seems like yet another thing to keep on maintaining. I might drill through the ceiling into the basement, to pull air from there to the skimmer, as it's barely used and air should be more or less stable.

 

[Fitzreefer]

Outside air intake is the course I took. Works great, is cheap and zero maintenance. Just use at least a half inch ID tube coupled down within inches of the skimmer intake. It's an airflow thing.

 

[Fitzreefer]

You can try from basement, but if that doesn't work, you can route through basement, and then through rim joist, to outside.

 

[Mal11224]

If you can get the air line from your skimmer outside, then that should help. I'm in NY as well and when it's hot, my PH drops a little more. My tank is in the basement and my fuge helps control the swing so I have not had the need to make any adjustments. Using a dehumidifier in the basement helps as well. I also know what you mean by people sucking the air out of the room and watching the PH fall. It happens to me too.

 

[Fitzreefer]

I'm near Philly, tank is in basement too. If u get the air from outside, put a piece of screen patch with zip ties over the end of the intake to keep those stink bugs and ladybugs out in the fall. You'll thank me when your skimmer doesn't overflow and u won't have to blow out the line with compressed air.