Overstocked tank - and limits for alkalinity

"Pszemol" wrote in message
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No, I like to keep my windows open an air fresh...
Anyway, high levels of alkalinity buffer should
compensate for CO2 solving in the water, shouldn't it?


No. You can have high alk, and if you pump CO2 into the water, you will
depress the pH. No amount of alkalinity can stop it. Only with good water
circulation, a clean air/water interface, and low CO2 in the ambient air,
can you lessen the effect.

Try this...take a sample of our water early in the morning before the lights
come on, check the pH, then take it outside and blow air bubbles into it
with a straw to aerate it. Now, check the pH again. If it went up, you have
a CO2 problem. If it stayed the same, I'd check the accuracy of my Alk test.

I thought you were up on your Alk/Ca/CO2 relationships? You slippin'? heheh

Kev

"KevinM" wrote in message . com...
I thought you were up on your Alk/Ca/CO2 relationships? You slippin'? heheh

I have to refresh what I read more often... I am getting old ;-)

"KevinM" wrote in message . com...
No. You can have high alk, and if you pump CO2 into the water, you will
depress the pH. No amount of alkalinity can stop it. Only with good water
circulation, a clean air/water interface, and low CO2 in the ambient air,
can you lessen the effect.

This is so true... I made 2nd test today - this time indoors...
Guess what - my pH lifted very little, from 7.70 to 7.74 and
did not move a bit more over next 30-40 minutes... Not like
yesterday, when during pumping outside air I maganed to get 8.22
So - I was wrong... my indoor air is not fresh!

I need to hook up my skimmer air intake to the outside air somehow.

"Pszemol" wrote in message
...

I need to hook up my skimmer air intake to the outside air somehow.

Do this and your current pH problem will go away. Just be sure to use
oversized tubing so as not to choke off the air too much.

Kev

"KevinM" wrote in message . com...
I need to hook up my skimmer air intake to the outside air somehow.

Do this and your current pH problem will go away. Just be sure to use
oversized tubing so as not to choke off the air too much.

But what about the tank water surface ? It is agitated right now...
Wouldn't it interfere with what I want to do ? The water surface
will be exchanging pressure with the indoor air full of CO2... :-(

"Pszemol" wrote in message
...
But what about the tank water surface ? It is agitated right now...
Wouldn't it interfere with what I want to do ? The water surface
will be exchanging pressure with the indoor air full of CO2... :-(

Most likely not. There is alot more gas exchange going on inside that
skimmer than at your air/water interface. Although I would try to see if I
could get more fresh air in the house, I don't think it will upset your
efforts if you don't. Just hooking your air intake to the outside air will
help some, as it will be constantly pumping fresh air inside.

BTW, what kind of skimmer are you using? What size air inlet on it? (My air
intake is a garden hose)
If your skimmer is, for example, a Skilter (God forbid), I wouldn't expect
much out of it in the way of blowing off CO2. If, on the other hand, you
have something like a AquaC, ER, Beckett, etc...type, something with a
decent sized pump running it, it should have no problem keeping your CO2
blown off.

Kev

"KevinM" wrote in message . com...
Most likely not. There is alot more gas exchange going on inside that
skimmer than at your air/water interface. Although I would try to see if I
could get more fresh air in the house, I don't think it will upset your
efforts if you don't. Just hooking your air intake to the outside air will
help some, as it will be constantly pumping fresh air inside.

I hooked up the skimmer to the outside air using the fact my tank
sits near the wall air-condition unit. I run the larger (2x) diameter
tubing near the air condition unit (between the unit and the sleeve)
so the intake is outside, through the "grill" in the unit sleeve box...
Than I link the smaller tubing going into the skimmer and then into my
water column... Unfortunatelly, pH this morning was again low, 7.75 :-(

BTW, what kind of skimmer are you using? What size air inlet on it?
(My air intake is a garden hose)
If your skimmer is, for example, a Skilter (God forbid), I wouldn't expect
much out of it in the way of blowing off CO2. If, on the other hand, you
have something like a AquaC, ER, Beckett, etc...type, something with a
decent sized pump running it, it should have no problem keeping your CO2
blown off.

I am using small SeaClone 100 - my tank is only 30 gallon of water.
The skimmer is powered with the MaxiJet 1200 with an regular air tube
as its air intake.

Instead of buying jumbo skimmer for $$$ I think I will finally make
a sump for that tank and run a lot of macroalgae with the light period
in the opposit phase to the main tank... That is the only thing I can
think of currently.