The importance of ventilating your fish tank rooms

[reefiness]

So I noticed the ph on my tank has been trending low. The past few days, checked alk and its in line with my normal levels so wasnt sure what was going... I did some reading and found some articles about the effects of high co2 levels in your homes air dissolcing into the tank and causing a drop in ph. So being that its been getting a little cooler I opened up a window in my basement thats about 20 ft from my tank, and the changes i saw on my apex were incredible.

My tank hit a low point in ph yesterday morning at around 4am when it dropped to 7.84. I opened up the window yesterday evening at around 6pm at which point the ph was at 8.0 on the daily rise. Last night the ph peaked at around 8.15. The overnight down swing was very much blunted only bringing the ph down to 8.05 and today its already made its way up to 8.27 with the windows still open.

I never would have immagined just opening a window can have that much of an impact on the ph of the tank, but if you think about it, co2 levels in your house skyrocket compared to whats outside and all of that extra co2 is able to dissolve right into your aquarium allowing your ph to fall.

 

[theMeat]

I ran a hose for the skimmer to outside. Not only better air but much quieter.

 

[reefiness]

Yeah im thinking about doing that too. But just the idea that there is that much co2 in the house is kind of worrisome.

Turns out high levels of co2 have been linked to headaches, chronic fatigue, and depression.

 

[theMeat]

True, and it's one of those things that creeps up on you without you noticing

 

[jedimaster1138]

This. Fresh air is a wonderful thing. The V in HVAC needs more respect and to stop being forgotten. In today's sealed up ultra energy efficient houses, it's even more important to introduce fresh air to the system, even and especially in high summer and the dead of winter.

My tank suffered from chronically low pH for a long time. I played with CO2 scrubbers, which worked, but the media was exhausted in hours, not days. Dosing Kalkwasser helps, of course, by using up some of that dissolved CO2, but introducing as much fresh air as possible into the environment is a wonderful thing. I actually wish my reef was close to the window, not 30 feet away.

 

[oh207]

I look forward to the change in season so that I can open the windows and doors and give my tank...and the family fresh air...indeed, its a wonderful thing.

 

[SantaMonica]

When CO2 gets high enough, that's when you get a stuffy feeling in a room.