Corey,
We had low pH in our tanks the first winter we lived in our new condo that has in-floor heating. Turned out the condo is pretty airtight and we were all suffering from too much CO2, hence the low pH. With the in-floor heating, there was no air coming into the place to give a proper balance of O2 and CO2.
With that in mind, you might also be suffering from high CO2 in your tankroom, and perhaps your whole living quarters. Is your tank in the basement or in a room that gets little fresh air?
Along with the high CO2, we also had high humidity. To counteract both of these, we kept our two bedroom windows open a crack and strategically placed a floor fan to push the fresh air into the tank area. pH soon began to rise somewhat. When humidity got too high (it was like a sauna in here at times), we'd open the balcony door for several minutes to exchange the air. pH rose even more after that.
To find out if you have high CO2 in your house/tank room, do the following test both inside the house and outside in the fresh air:
1. Pour a new glass of cool tapwater for each test. Measure with a pH probe and record the results.
2. Aerate the glass of water with an air pump for 10 minutes, then measure pH and record results.
3. Compare inside and outside end pHs. The outside pH will give you an accurate account of what the proper balance of O2 and CO2 should be. If you inside pH is lower than the outside pH, you need more fresh air in your tankroom.
BTW, we did the outside pH test in January when it was really freaking cold. Can't remember the exact numbers, but I believe inside pH was about 7.9 and outside pH was 8.2 or 8.4 or something like that.
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