ph wtf?

Are your windows open more getting more fresh air in the house?

.3 swing in a day is not much. Your PH is what most people dream of. Most people have a hard time keeping it close to 8.0

 

What Xroads said... /DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default//emoticons/smile.gif

 

as you breath (and your family, cats, dogs, and even fish) , CO2 builds up in your house driving down your PH. Even with a drafty house, it still builds up. That is what an air exchanger is code on newer homes.
Now with the windows open, tons of air exchange and that CO2 is being vented outside allowing your PH to rise into optimal levels.
Plants counter this effect by sucking up the CO2 & releasing oxygen. That is why many people run their refugiums during the night, the photosynthises at night keeps the ph up.
Ive even seen posts where people have said.  "I was having a big party in my house and my ph fell from 8.0 to 7.6.  I am worried someone spilled something in my tank, what do I do?"
Of course having a ton of people in a closed space filled up the house with CO2 & drove the ph down.

 

I have this happen every time we have gatherings in our house, the ph drops down to about 7.8 and takes about a day or so to recover. Our house is fairly new (2009) and we have a air exchanger that runs 24/7 putting fresh air directly into the room with the tank, but even this doesn’t have as much of an affect as opening the windows, not really feasible in the winter though.  Guess I will just have to keep everyone in the garage and out of the house

 

Nothing like a big ole pH drop to ruin a perfectly good house party.

 

+3/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/biggrin.gif  There is a simple test that can be done to check whether a home has high levels of CO2.  Basically (not exactly the test) you take a container of tank water and aerate it.  Check the PH.  Then take the same amount of tank water outside and aerate it.  Test PH.  If the test inside did not increase the PH but did when outside, the home has a high level of CO2.  I had struggled for years with keeping PH acceptable...2 years ago we added an air exchanger and it works...no more PH issues/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/biggrin.gif  There are other options available such as venting fresh air in... 
8.5 is okay but I personally wouldn't want it to remain that high as it's beginning to push the limit, as you know/DesktopModules/ActiveForums/themes/_default/emoticons/smile.gif