Piping in fresh air

[Reefkeep]

My goal is to bring in fresh air to supply my protein skimmer. Of course I want to do this for pH reasons.

My fish tank room is in an interior room, as such it has no windows. It does, however have the 2 air handler for my homes air-conditioning system.

Is it possible to tap into the air that is being pulled into the HVAC system? Has anyone done this? Is it a bad idea? Any tips would be appreciated.

 

[civics14]

Air supply for your HVAC is just air from inside your home already. Not sure it would do any good.

Maybe a co2 scrubber instead?

 

[Reefkeep]

I literally know crap about air-conditioning systems, but I assumed that giant fan outside was pushing air into the house, is that not the case?

I have a CO2 scrubber and it works like a champ, but it’s going through a significant amount of media, and it’s a bit expensive.

 

[civics14]

I literally know crap about air-conditioning systems, but I assumed that giant fan outside was pushing air into the house, is that not the case?

I have a CO2 scrubber and it works like a champ, but it’s going through a significant amount of media, and it’s a bit expensive.

The unit outside is your condenser unit and it does not pull any air in from the outside. The unit inside your house, your air handler, recirculates the air inside your house. Hence why we have a CO2 build up with newer homes being more sealed off and lack of fresh air.

Are you recirculation the air in you co2 scrubber? I don't have one, but I hear you can stretch out the media longer this way.

 

[Reefkeep]

That’s helpful thank you. I have the co2 scrubber hooked up to the intake of my skimmer, I’m not sure if that is considered recycled.

 

[civics14]

That’s helpful thank you. I have the co2 scrubber hooked up to the intake of my skimmer, I’m not sure if that is considered recycled.

Recirculating the air in your scrubber is pulling the air from your skimmer through the lid or the cup rather than introducing new air from your home. This helps with the longevity of the media since it is pulling co2 from your tank only and not the air inside your home. I suggest a quick google search to confirm your setup.

also, what kind of PH are you dealing with?

 

[Reefkeep]

Interesting and again helpfulWith the scrubber in place PH is always above 8.2 without I was in the 7.9 to 8.0 range.

 

[chaples55]

I've never seen any noticeable results from bringing in outside air for my skimmer. I have a horribly leaky 1980s house though... My indoor CO2 levels generally stay in the 500-600ppm range (according to Airthings Wave Plus) which isn't that much higher than outdoor air. Probably makes more sense in a well-built airtight house.

I second recirculating the scrubbed skimmer air. Should make the media last a lot longer. If you use 2-part dosing I would also suggest looking into Randy's recipe using Sodium Hydroxide for the Alk part. It has the same pH benefit as Kalkwasser but is concentrated like normal 2-part. My pH is 8.3-8.4 day and night. Gets up to 8.5 if I turn on the refugium during the day!