Need frsh O2

[Orion80]

I need a way to b able to get some frsh oxygen to my tank,m i know this sounds silly but, it seems thati have high co2 levels in my house or at least in my basement. Do furnances have fresh air intakes?? O r am i looking at haveing to drill a hole to the outside of my house to bring in frsh air??



Adie



Any and all ideas appreciate.

[Tarolisol]

Im not sure about your furnace but i know mine has a fresh air intake. Its a big silver tube entering the furnace with a split right before if enters the firnace to a mesh covered tube. Not sure if that makes sence. I can feel the cold air coming out of mine.

[EmilyB]

I know that I have to leave the door open into my fishroom or the CO2 levels rise. I also use fans and open windows and doors a lot. :mrgreen: [/i]

[MitchM]

Adie, how old is your furnace?
If it's a newer one, it will have a fresh air intake, usually a big insulated flexible hose (6 - 8") with a screened metal end on it. If it's not enough, try turning on the fan switch so it runs manually for a while.

Mitch

[IslandReefer]

My fishroom was once called a furnace room with included natural gas hot water heater....hense lots of CO2.
My strategies include:** exhaust fan (bathroom fan plumbed into old dryer outlet
**2in vinyl hose to the air intake of my skimmers beckett and through the wood frame of a basement window.
If this is not enough, I will raise the ORP by running low dose ozone....but fresh outside air and room exhaust should be enough.... :mrgreen:
Any more ideas??

[Orion80]

Thanx guys will definately try some of these out.

Adie

[Buccaneer]

If you have a skimmer ... just drill a small hole to the outside between the joists ( assuming that if you are asking about the furnace that this tank is in the basement ) attach a air line from the skimmer intake to this hole. This will definately improve your O2 levels without freezing you in those nice warm winters you have there in Sask. :razz:

[Delphinus]

How exactly do you determine that you have "too much CO2" in a room? Are you just tracking pH of the tanks? Or is there something else you use as a quantifier.

[Orion80]

Well farley holmes, from reef central, gave me the exeriment, take the ph of your sytem. Aerate a sample in your house then check ph. then take another sample of water and aerate it outside then check ph.

If the ph rises from aerateing outside but not inside he says u proably have high co2 lvls in your house thus u need fresh air.

Not a big thing in summer here b/c we have lots of open windows but all the windows are closed in winter.

Adie

[Delphinus]

So are you already having pH problems in the tanks? Or are you just concerned about the potential of developing pH problems down the road?

Sorry, I'm just trying to understand what to look for.

[DukeB]

I'm thinking of doing something similar with a fresh air vent (via air tubing) to my skimmer.
I've notice since my windows have been shut more often, that my ph has dropped slightly from summer months. Cracking a window just won't be an option once the 'big freeze' hits. :biggrin:

[Nemo]

just my 2 cents, but if you all have furnaces dumping co2 into your houses GET THEM CHECKED!!!!!
A furnace opperating properly will have enough make up air coming into it allowing all the burnt gases to exit through the chimney and not enter your house. If the gases are entering the house you have a make up air problem, which is a potentialy dangerous problem


Robert

[Beverly]

I'm just trying to understand what to look for.

Lasts winter was our first in our new, very air-tight apartment condo with in-floor heating. pH in our tanks barely rose above 7.8-7.9, using a pH probe as the measurement tool. Did the farley holmes experiment (before I learned it was his :razz: ) and found that pH rose greatly outdoors, but hardly any at all indoors.

Decided to open two windows on opposite sides of the apartment just barely a crack, on the coldest days, to remedy the situation. On warmer days, windows were open more. We have a fan in our den/computer room where temps can get high from the small room/lots of computer stuff. The fan circulated the air throughout the apartment and pH rose in the tanks, and the air in the apartment was noticeably less stuffy. Not only did the tanks' O2 improve, so did the O2 for all the other living things, such as for me and for Chris :biggrin:

One slight drawback is the coolness of the two rooms where the windows are open. But since they're both bedrooms, it doesn't matter a great deal, especially with an extra blanket. At least the people sleeping in the bedrooms have fresh air all night.

[Delphinus]

Thanks Bev, I was mainly curious if it's -just- the pH of tanks or if there were additional "problems" or "phenomenons" that can make one suspect "too much CO2." Short of testing CO2 or O2 saturation of the tank via test kits or along those lines.

[Beverly]

Tony,

I noticed no other problems in the tanks, though they were only set up for less than a year. I would suspect older tanks might experience some problems other than low pH, but would not begin to guess what these might be.

The funny thing now, after living with fresh air coming in during the winter, is that I can tell if the condo is stuffy and that the windows need to be open more.

The weather is unseasonably spring-like here lately, so we often open the door to the balcony for awhile a couple of times during the day and evening to exchange the air.

Here is an pic of our old tanks and our dining/living rooms:

http://www.lostmymarblz.com/hh-bw-aquarium-livingroom-1.jpg

Should probably get a new pic, huh?