Pulling fresh air from outside (1 Viewer)

RR-MAN · Apr 29, 2018

Hey guys

So to increase the tank ph I decided to pull fresh air from outside through the skimmer.

The 1/2 tubing fitted perfectly on the skimmer intake. There are two intakes on the skimmer so I capped the other intake.

None of the tubing is visible-under the tank through the fish room closet and boom outside.

Did I do this right? By the way-skimmer runs the same as before. Lots of tiny bubbles.

steveb · Apr 29, 2018

Are you worried about the county mosquito sprayers? I have thought about the same but dang they spray a LOT in my area...

Cody · Apr 29, 2018

Get some 2" diameter pvc, cut off maybe 6", cap it on both sides, drill a hole for your tubing to fit in one cap, drill a hole in the other cap for intake, and fill it with fine carbon and a pad filter. Should help sort out some outside chemicals or general gunk that will get in.

RR-MAN · Apr 29, 2018

steveb said:
Are you worried about the county mosquito sprayers? I have thought about the same but dang they spray a LOT in my area...

Very good point Steve but i have to risk it. Soon I will be running a calcium reactor which will cause more ph drop.

Cody,

Brilliant idea...I got tons of pvc in the garage. Thanks will definitely try it.

I did put some fine mesh on the outside tubing so no bugs can crawl in straight in the skimmer intake which is enclosed [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

Cody · Apr 29, 2018

RR-MAN said:
Very good point Steve but i have to risk it. Soon I will be running a calcium reactor which will cause more ph drop.

Cody,

Brilliant idea...I got tons of pvc in the garage. Thanks will definitely try it.

I did put some fine mesh on the outside tubing so no bugs can crawl in straight in the skimmer intake which is enclosed [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

It doesn't have to be 2" pvc either. It's actually probably better for 1" that's longer. It forces the air through more carbon.

RR-MAN · Apr 29, 2018

Check out the 1 hour graph [emoji15][emoji15][emoji15]
Major improvement...

chris85 · Apr 30, 2018

Have you tried an algae scrubber to increase the oxygen...or even cultivating photo in your stand?

RR-MAN · Apr 30, 2018

chris85 said:
Have you tried an algae scrubber to increase the oxygen...or even cultivating photo in your stand?

Have tons of space under the tank. Any recommendation on the algae scrubber?

I'm also considering dripping kalk but have to find a way to do it painlessly. I used to have a kalk reactor - it was a pain to maintain. I think it can be done much easily these days with a dosing pump.

I don't usually chase PH but this time game is on...I want it definitely above 8. :tea:

chris85 · Apr 30, 2018

Just a diy scrubber with a led light. I will try to get back with a design later but nothing special.

eraser2001 · Apr 30, 2018

RR-MAN said:
Have tons of space under the tank. Any recommendation on the algae scrubber?

I'm also considering dripping kalk but have to find a way to do it painlessly. I used to have a kalk reactor - it was a pain to maintain. I think it can be done much easily these days with a dosing pump.

I don't usually chase PH but this time game is on...I want it definitely above 8.

Do you have calcium reactor set up I your tank?

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RR-MAN · Apr 30, 2018

eraser2001 said:
Do you have calcium reactor set up I your tank?

Sent from my SM-G965U1 using Tapatalk

running apex dos with ESV supplements.

Calcium reactor is not hooked up yet-will do that once tank is more established.

eraser2001 · Apr 30, 2018

RR-MAN said:
running apex dos with ESV supplements.

Calcium reactor is not hooked up yet-will do that once tank is more established.

If you install one, you could do the same that I did.
After the calcium reactor I drop the effluent in to a container, in this container I have an air stone to remove excess of co2.
This help me to void the problem with calcium reactor and low ph due co2

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Bigfishy · Apr 30, 2018

RR-MAN said:
Have tons of space under the tank. Any recommendation on the algae scrubber?

I'm also considering dripping kalk but have to find a way to do it painlessly. I used to have a kalk reactor - it was a pain to maintain. I think it can be done much easily these days with a dosing pump.

I don't usually chase PH but this time game is on...I want it definitely above 8.

Clear Water Algae Scrubbers are awesome and great customer service. I just bought one.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

RR-MAN · Apr 30, 2018

Bigfishy said:
Clear Water Algae Scrubbers are awesome and great customer service. I just bought one.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Will check it out. Thanks.

Ph is at 7.96 woohooo

Cody · Apr 30, 2018

RR-MAN said:
Have tons of space under the tank. Any recommendation on the algae scrubber?

I'm also considering dripping kalk but have to find a way to do it painlessly. I used to have a kalk reactor - it was a pain to maintain. I think it can be done much easily these days with a dosing pump.

I don't usually chase PH but this time game is on...I want it definitely above 8.

No need for a kalk stirrer. Just dump a bunch of lime in the bottom of a jug/container and fill it up with water. Without stirring, the water will saturate enough pretty quickly when you pour in the water. Again, you can make a small little pvc stand that has a hole drilled through it to hold the tub. From there, just have a standard two part dosing pump dose a little bit on the hour to help with the pH, if you're so inclined.

This is what I use on my 20 long. I never do anything but add more water to the top off jug and the tank does great. The tubing is held a couple inches above the settled kalk.

RR-MAN · May 1, 2018

Cody,

If you are leaving the top open - kalk is useless mixing with Air/CO2. Kalk must be kept in a closed container even for top off based on Dr. Randy Holmes.

Cody · May 1, 2018

RR-MAN said:
Cody,

If you are leaving the top open - kalk is useless mixing with Air/CO2. Kalk must be kept in a closed container even for top off based on Dr. Randy Holmes.

Of course the tops not open. It has a paint bucket lid casually set on top, duh! That counts as covered, right?!

mclark452 · May 2, 2018

You will find that simply piping your skimmer airline outside will not give you the results you are looking for. It just doesn't work with our heavy hot air. It wasn't till I dialed back my 2 part some and added Kalk to the equation that I was able to get and keep my pH up...and yes I ran my skimmer line outside....it still is.

RR-MAN · May 2, 2018

mclark452 said:
You will find that simply piping your skimmer airline outside will not give you the results you are looking for. It just doesn't work with our heavy hot air. It wasn't till I dialed back my 2 part some and added Kalk to the equation that I was able to get and keep my pH up...and yes I ran my skimmer line outside....it still is.

No kidding about the hot/humid air. I think dripping kalk is a good option. Last night my PH was reading 7.99 on apex which is a huge improvement.

Okay what are you saying about dialed back your 2 parts. The alkalinity supplement actually acts as a buffer so it will increase your PH not decrease. That's why I'm thinking about using my apex dos long term for two parts dosing.

steveb · May 2, 2018

kind of depends on what your source of alkalinity is...

Na2CO3 sodium carbonate (soda ash) ph 10.52
CaOH calcium hydroxide (kalk) ph 12.4

so using kalk over soda ash will provide a little more ph bump over regular 2 part..

but if you want a larger ph bump use NaOH sodium hydroxide.. ph >= 14
Reef2Reef: New DIY Two Part Recipes with Higher pH Boost

Pulling fresh air from outside (1 Viewer)

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