It's Official - I've got elevated CO2 levels in the basement

[Lizardgi]

So my tanks PH is typically always 7.8. It doesn't matter the time or light schedule, it's always 7.8. I know this isn't terrible, but as I'd like to get more and more into SPS corals, 8.2 will be better in the long run. Today we had one of the first days in a very long time we were able to open all the windows in the house and the basement (where the tank is). After 8 hours of fresh air, the PH in the tank jumped to 8.2! While I'm sure the jump is bad for the tank, I now know that I've got issues with CO2.

My goal for the next few weeks will be getting this fixed, not just for my fishes, but for the health of my house as well. My first plan is to have my central air and furnace inspected / tuned up just to make sure everything checks out there. If all is well, I might try to run a fresh air supply into the basement fish room from an upstairs room. If I ran a skimmer, I'd run a fresh air line from outside to the intake, but that's not an option now.

Well that's my story!

 

[slm32123]

Good luck lizard I hope everything works out perfectly for ya!

 

[Smitty]

I might try to run a fresh air supply into the basement fish room from an upstairs room. If I ran a skimmer, I'd run a fresh air line from outside to the intake.

That is exactly what I was gonna suggest...to run an airline tube outside from the tank.

 

[rjordan393]

Lizard,
An airline tube pulling air from the outside and directed to the intake of a skimmer will help some but the effects may not be noticable due to its small size compared to the cubic foot space of your fishroom but also the rest of your house. You will have elevated CO2 in those areas too.
Listed below is where most of the CO2 comes from:
Normally its people who provide the most CO2.
But if you have someone in your household that likes to have something always cooking on a natural or propane stove (the oven is the worst) then that can be the #1 source for CO2.
Non vented gas heaters.
After that it may be caused by leakage in your main heater.

Listed is what I did to help keep CO2 levels low.
I would turn on the kitchen exhaust fan when ever cooking. If you have a door leading to the basement (most do) then close it while cooking.

I installed two four inch fresh air intakes. One goes directly into the return air duct of my central gas heater to provide fresh air and the other was installed in a partition cinder block wall in my basement using its interior space as a raceway. I just drilled a hole from outside until I broke through the raceway. I added an intake screened device to keep bugs out. And on the inside, I made up a wood disk an attached it to cover the four inch hole that allowed me to adjust how much I wanted to open it.
The reason for the basement intake is to provide more fresh air to your hotwater heater and your furnace if they are gas operated. They will operate more efficiently if they get sufficient fresh air.
If you have a newer home, then there should be fresh air intakes for your basement appliances.
Here is an article you will find interesting that I submitted to "Aquarium Frontiers" some years ago dealing with CO2 in the home.
http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...hreadid=102605

 

[rjordan393]

Try this url instead. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...2002/short.htm

 

[rjordan393]

Nine years ago, when I wrote the above article, I had dismissed the notion of using indoor plants to help remove carbon dioxide because I felt that they would not be able to keep up with the production of carbon dioxide. I just did some research and found out that in an 1800 square foot house, it is recommended to place 15 eight to ten inch potted plants throughtout the house to help clean the air of contaminates including CO2.
The scientist's who provided the data on the contaminate removal are having their results questioned because their test procedures were performed in a sealed envirorment and not in a real life situation.
But I believe it can play a good part among other measures that I took to keep CO2 low enough to maintain a stable pH. As a matter of fact, I think two large plants next to your tank would fit in just right.