Too Much C02 In Me House

[johnnyjtaylor]

I've really been struggling with low ph since moving house 5 weeks ago and ph buffer only puts it up for a brief period then it drops again over a few hours. Obviously a constant up and down of ph is a bad stress on everything in the tank so the buffers gone to the back of the fish cupboard to catch dust.
My ph problems seem to be due to co2 in my new house with its upvc double glazed windows and gas central heating(old house was 400yrs old and had a constant supply of fresh air in the form of icy drafts). The tank ph sits at around 8.0(8.25 after buffer)and drops to below 7.8 overnight after lights out. I aerated a pint of tank water with an airstone connected to a pump outside the window for about 3/4 of an hour today and the ph went straight up to 8.3 so I'm fairly confident co2 inside the house is the issue.
I've got some Kalkwasser to try(as this should react with the co2 in the tank and raise the ph) but I'm not too keen on the idea and aren't sure how much to use.I'm going with an experimental 300ml dripped in the tank slowly overnight to see what happens.
Would a refugium be a better idea on the opposite light cycle from the main tank with some sort of macro algea to eat up co2 and if so would THIS be ok for a 180l tank.

Tank params:
mg 1350
ca 420
dKh 8.4
nitrate under 3ppm
phosphate 0ppm

Cheers Johnny

 

[SkiFletch]

Well Johnny, sounds like your diagnosis is correct. Indoor ambient CO2 levels are likely the culprit for your low pH. Having said that, low pH as a result of CO2 buildup is rarely a significant problem for tank inhabitants. If your "big three" (calcium, alkalinity, and magnesium) are at proper concentrations (which in your case, they are), I would tend to just leave things as they were. Unless you have hard corals showing signs of stress, chances are, your tank is just fine and you should leave it be.

A refugium on an opposite light cycle would surely help stabilize your tank to ~8.0pH night and day, but still wouldn't really raise the pH up, just remove the fluctuations. You CAN drip kalk, just be careful and do so slowly.

Again, IMO, unless hard corals are suffering, leave things be and wait till you can open your windows again when the weather turns. Its not far from now

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

Cheers Ski

A refugium on an opposite light cycle would surely help stabilize your tank to ~8.0pH night and day, but still wouldn't really raise the pH up, just remove the fluctuations. You CAN drip kalk, just be careful and do so slowly.

Stable would be good or at least a step in the right direction so I've ordered this off ebay but I need to get a light for it,the guy selling them recommends an arcadia arc pod with a tropical PC tube, does anybody use one or know if they are any good?
Also what would I want to put in the refugium? would this sound about right ,LR rubble in the intake chamber(replacing bioballs),coral sand in the main chamber(how deep?) and cheato macro algea(If any lovely kind hearted members would like to donate me some I would be most pleased )
On the Kalkwasser front last nights 300ml kept the ph at 8.05 all night and its slowly crept up to 8.15 since the lights came on and raised the calcium and KH only slightly so tonight I'm gonna try 750ml to see how that goes.

cheers johnny

 

[rictheredneck]

you ordered one? i am very tempted to getone myself i'd love to see fotos and see how u like it!

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

you ordered one? i am very tempted to getone myself i'd love to see fotos and see how u like it!

yup. I'll post pics when I get it and get it set up

 

[rictheredneck]

awesome

 

[Musho3210]

no sand, only the tiniest of rocks, and lots and lots and lots of chaeto

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

Cheers musho, just LR rubble and cheato then

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

you ordered one? i am very tempted to getone myself i'd love to see fotos and see how u like it!

Got the HOB refugium and added just over a Kg of LR(small pieces)

The brackets are nice and wide and even fitted over the wider part where the brace bar is.

The only thing is the return chute makes a alot of bubbles so I need to get some perspex to make a degassing plate.

Overall its a nicely made bit of kit Now I'm just waiting for an arcadia arc pod 11w clip on light to arrive and I still need to source some chaeto(again if anyone has any going spare and would like to donate some,I'd be happy to send a S.A.E and a zippy bag )

Cheers Johnny

 

[rictheredneck]

thanks for the fotos! looks cool, i have 10mm glass u reckon it will hank on that? also how is your being fed?, i have a hob skimmer with a flexible outlet u think there would be anyway of blocking off the inlet and just have the skimmer emptying into it?

sorry no chaeto only caulerpa

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

Yeah no probs on your 10mm glass.I'm feeding it with a powerhead 350l/h,I wanted to do mine with me skimmer but sadly didn't have enough height on the skimmer outletand didn't want to raise it up but it would be doable.

 

[rictheredneck]

Yeah no probs on your 10mm glass.I'm feeding it with a powerhead 350l/h,I wanted to do mine with me skimmer but sadly didn't have enough height on the skimmer outletand didn't want to raise it up but it would be doable.

what powerhead are you using? u got a link?

 

[johnnyjtaylor]

I'm using one I had in the cupboard but the guy that makes these refugiums also sells suitable powerheads for about a tenner.here