Surface water agitation for ph

[bubbaque]

@Randy Holmes-Farley If I'm trying to raise ph a little more with my home having high co2 levels. I currently have my skimmer pulling outside air to help raise ph. Would it be more benificial to increase or decrease surface agitation? My thought is if I lower the surface agitation, then my skimmer would be doing all the gas exchange with higher oxygen levels. Or is it better to still have high surface agitation to release the co2?

 

[sghera64]

Higher surface agitation increases gas exchange with the gas above the liquid. In your case, you believe that gas is higher in CO2 than the outside air. So, if your efforts to reduce the water CO2 level with outside air is working, and if higher CO2 inside is working against you, you would not want to increase agitation at the surface.

 

[Salty1962]

Higher surface agitation increases gas exchange with the gas above the liquid. In your case, you believe that gas is higher in CO2 than the outside air. So, if your efforts to reduce the water CO2 level with outside air is working, and if higher CO2 inside is working against you, you would not want to increase agitation at the surface.

+1. I would keep agitation high though, especially if you have a lot of livestock.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

It's a conundrum. More surface agitation might lower pH while also boosting O2 at night if the air has elevated CO2 in it.