Skimmer Hose Venting Outside
- Thread starter Sparty00
- Start date
Aquarist007
New member
Re: Skimmer Hose Venting Outside
I asked this question a few months ago and I was going to have to go 10 feet---everyone said that was fine.
(I never bothered---I found opening the windows did the trick)
I asked this question a few months ago and I was going to have to go 10 feet---everyone said that was fine.
(I never bothered---I found opening the windows did the trick)
Aquarist007
New member
what are your pH, and alkalinity levels right now?
My PH during the day is 8.0 does not get any higher, and dips between 7.6-7.8 in evening. I do not have a refugium and wont have one for some time.
Alk has been good it is 11.2 dkh. I tried dosing with Seachum Marine Buffer to try to get PH up to 8.2 / 8.3, however all it is doing is raising my alk. It was high at 13.4 dkh, however I did a water change to get it back inline.
Calcium is 440.
I did an aeration test to trouble shoot...took glass of tank water and added an air stone to it for a couple of hrs. inside, no change to PH. Then I took another glass of tank water and hook up airstone for two hrs. using outside air. PH went to 8.2.
SO this test led me to believe that there is too much CO2 in the house.
Alk has been good it is 11.2 dkh. I tried dosing with Seachum Marine Buffer to try to get PH up to 8.2 / 8.3, however all it is doing is raising my alk. It was high at 13.4 dkh, however I did a water change to get it back inline.
Calcium is 440.
I did an aeration test to trouble shoot...took glass of tank water and added an air stone to it for a couple of hrs. inside, no change to PH. Then I took another glass of tank water and hook up airstone for two hrs. using outside air. PH went to 8.2.
SO this test led me to believe that there is too much CO2 in the house.
Aquarist007
New member
As you are aware of you shouldn't use buffers to increase your pH level. Hopfully your alk will drop off quickly and you can use something like Kent dKH boost for pH---it doesn't put the alk up as fast as the boron in buffers.
That said----we need to keep up the nocturnal pH and let the alkalinity fall.
Can you crank up your skimmer?
IMO you should put the refugium in your needs list alot sooner then planned.
I battled with a similar situation all summer--cranking the volume and keeping the light on the refugium 24/7 did wonders.
My refugium costs under 50 dollars to set up:
dadonoflaw
New member
depends on where you live. my temp came down .9 degrees since i started using outside air and since fuge is lit 24/7 i suspect it will never get lower than 78-79 so...
Aquarist007
New member
I've been running three basement windows open for the last two month(the sump, refugium is in the basement.
Over night the temp has only gone down .5 of a degree and we have already had a few nights of 40 degree weather.
If it went down any more the heater would kick in.
benf
Premium Member
I have similar issues with low ph...even after moving my whole skimmer to outside...no noticeable difference in pH. I tried just about everything...my Refuge is outside as well and run the lights reverse to the tank w/out much success. I have to dose Kalk just to get it to 8.0. I will be glad when cooler weather gets here so i can open some windows. Its a tough issue for me here in Florida!
Not sure why others down here dont experience the same pH problem.
Not sure why others down here dont experience the same pH problem.
Aquarist007
New member
yeah--that will make a difference---you have such a big surface area on that 200 plus your sump and refug which are inside--probably alot more gas exchange then from a skimmer.
Do you have the surface of your tank really churning and is it open--sometimes that can make a difference.
VaderWS6
New member
I have the intake tube of my Berlin skimmer drawing air from outside. The tube is 20 feet long, and gives the skimmer the same amount of air as it did when it was only a foot long. My pH levels haven't changed really at all though, around 8.1 during the day, and 7.6 - 7.8 at night... I've got crazy surface agitation though, so maybe that has something to do with it??
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Appreciate the responses, the issue with setting up a refugium sooner is due to my current setup. I am currently running a Tidepool II Wet Dry Bio-Wheel sump / filter system. It was what was sold to me by LFS. I think this was done to save me money upfront, however I wish I went with refugium & sump. My issue is I have no room under my stand to put a refugium, because that is where the tidepool resides, and placing a refugium outside of the stand in a family wont fly with the wife, plus I dont like that idea either. The only way to remove that is to empty the tank as it only comes out through the top of the stand...so that is not a good option.
If I could add a refugium and place it in the basement and somehow run plumbing to the sump in the stand that might work, however I am not sure how I would do the plumbing or if it would even work.
If you have any ideas I am open to them.
If I could add a refugium and place it in the basement and somehow run plumbing to the sump in the stand that might work, however I am not sure how I would do the plumbing or if it would even work.
If you have any ideas I am open to them.
