PH - Outside air plumbing

[GuppyHJD]

My PH is stuck at 8.0...it never moves. I want to try bringing in outside air to my skimmer. I was thinking I would pull a 3/8" tube from my skimmer up into the attic of my house. My LFS advised me to use a bigger tube to not restrict the airflow and perhaps just run 1/2" PVC plumbing through the house wall.

Before I drill holes in the house, I am thinking I will just run a piece of hose out a window. I am trying to think of ways to close the window down (since it's in the 90s and the A/C will be running). What if I put a piece of 1" PVC in the track of the window. Drill 10 holes in the PVC pipe facing outside. On the inside screw in a hose barb or a T into the PVC and then a hose barb with tubing to the skimmer.

Suggestions?

 

[ColoredRock]

Can you take a gallon of tank water... keep it it the same temperature (put a heater in it) and put it outside with a powerhead and test it after a bit. That should give you a good baseline to see if you need to go thru all that work. That should exclude any interior CO2 issues.

 

[zheka757]

I recently put a fan over top of my tank to cool water temperature down. But it also got my ph up by .1 my ph maxes out at 8.3 day time. And 8.0 to 8.1 night time. Fan is on 24/7

 

[mdb_talon]

I agree it makes sense to first see if the outside air is going to make a difference. Ideally using an airpump and a cup of water only takes 10 minutes.

As for the 8.0 and never moves that seem unusual you should be seeing some fluctuation through the day.

As for using the window to test what you describe i think would work. When i had mine through window i just cut a 3 inch strip of plywood and put weatherseal on both sides and closed it in the window. Then cut a hope just big enough for my tube. Then when i was sure it was worthwhile i did it through the wall.

Be careful running airlines/pvc through the attic. It is a good way to get a lot of condensation dripping of the pipes(or inside the pipes) depending on weather and how ventilated your attic is, etc.

 

[GuppyHJD]

Thank you for the replies. It makes me wonder - what test kit should I be using. I use Hanna and Salifert for most but PH I was advised to just us API. Now I am wondering, perhaps a HANNA pen or a more accurate kit?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

For pH, most any meter beats a kit since you can always check or calibrate a meter with a standard or preferably 2, but a seawater pH test kit is very hard for an ordinary hobbyist to validate.

 

[GuppyHJD]

For pH, most any meter beats a kit since you can always check or calibrate a meter with a standard or preferably 2, but a seawater pH test kit is very hard for an ordinary hobbyist to validate.

Ordering a pH meter now from Amazon

 

[ColoredRock]

Ordering a pH meter now from Amazon

I think it has been said alot.. dont chase the numbers but look at is an indicator.. I cant tell you how many times I have calibrated mine.

I look at mine now for a trending drift.