BRS CO2 scubber media life

[BroccoliFarmer]

Randy, since oxygen levels are being discussed, and are something we should be aware of, are there any hobby grade monitors for O2 in our tanks?

Maybe this?

(USED) MW600 Dissolved Oxygen Meter - Milwaukee Instruments

Shop The Best Saltwater Aquarium Equipment & Supplies at Saltwater Aquarium. We Carry Everything you will Need for your Fish Tank.

www.saltwateraquarium.com

 

[Derrick0580]

How are you oxygen levels. Any concerns based on what randy indicated?

I have a rimless 120 tall planet tank, with a custom acrylic/mesh top. I also have icecap 4k gyres at each end causing surface agitation so I’m not very concerned about lack of O2

Almost all reefers say that, and almost all reefers have a pH change day to night that indicates incomplete CO2 exchange. Complete gas equilibration would cause no pH change day to night and pH would only track changes in the home air (and alk, if it did change).

So while it may be true that you have adequate O2 exchange, I do not think that reefers are generally successful at estimating gas exchange simply by looking at the system.

i also added an icecap kalk stirrer fed by an ecotech versa pump….my ph never changed after adding it. I keep my alk around 8.5. My local fish guru who has all of this stuff down to a science, literally spouts off mathematical equations to figure all of this stuff out, told me I needed a whole house air exchanger to bring my co2 levels down…i figured $50 worth of equipment and media was a more financially safe bet before throwing 1600-2000 worth of hvac upgrades at it!

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

Guys (and Gals)..check out this thread. For my BubbleMagus 5..all my Co2 scrubbing issues have been resolved by 2 simple posts.

CO2 scrubber rebreather on Bubble Magus 5

It just so happens the Rubbermaid 3.2 cup / 760ml bowl fits the Bubble Magus Curve 5 lid perfectly! A simply 3/8" nipple attached feeding the CO2 scrubber and wham-o, we have a rebreather!

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Risk1994]

I dont know how you guys are getting your media to last so long (getting back to the OP question)

I have the BRS scrubber on my RSR350 (75g) and its pulling in air from outside. I set up a solenoid to run the OUTSIDE air through the scrubber for a few hours at night time...works great but in 2 days media is half exhausted! Im hearing people going weeks without replacement...how is this possible? Are there some longer lasting media out there?

This is the reason I dont like these, twice a week replacement will be too expensive and time consuming.

 

[J1a]

I dont know how you guys are getting your media to last so long (getting back to the OP question)

I have the BRS scrubber on my RSR350 (75g) and its pulling in air from outside. I set up a solenoid to run the OUTSIDE air through the scrubber for a few hours at night time...works great but in 2 days media is half exhausted! Im hearing people going weeks without replacement...how is this possible? Are there some longer lasting media out there?

This is the reason I dont like these, twice a week replacement will be too expensive and time consuming.

I exhaust the media really quickly (a few days) if the scrubber only drawn in ambient air. Now I set it up as recirculation, the same media can last for about 2 months.

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I exhaust the media really quickly (a few days) if the scrubber only drawn in ambient air. Now I set it up as recirculation, the same media can last for about 2 months.

I’ve been up and running for bout a week and not seeing any color change in my media. Running a recirculating as well

 

[Risk1994]

I exhaust the media really quickly (a few days) if the scrubber only drawn in ambient air. Now I set it up as recirculation, the same media can last for about 2 months.

I draw in outside air and only scrub it for 7hrs a day, lasts about 4 days. This is nuts.

 

[MNFish]

So I was wondering if it is the media or possibly the CO2 Scubber itself as when it is exhausted only a small portion of the media appears to be fully purple. So what I am trying is instead of filling it up with as much of the 1.2 pound bag that will fit, I put about a 4th of the bag into the scrubber. So far it has been working for 2 days, so I can already tell I am going to get more out of the 1.2 pound bag than I was before....
Does everyone else fill up the scrubber with as much as will fit, or has anyone tried to just partially fill it? My gut tells me the fuller it is the more humidity that is needed to use all the media, where when I just partially filled and the media is less condensed I can completely exhaust the amount I put in.....

 

[J1a]

I fill up the reactor almost to the brim. I also pour in about half a cup of water to the bottom of the reactor. This ensures sufficient moisture is available to help with scrubbing.

 

[MNFish]

I fill up the reactor almost to the brim. I also pour in about half a cup of water to the bottom of the reactor. This ensures sufficient moisture is available to help with scrubbing.

I should add more water when I fill it up all the way, that will have to be something else I experiment with.
Thanks

 

[Derrick0580]

I fill mine to the top and add a couple teaspoons to the bottom of the canister. I also run mine in a recirculating loop with the use of a skimmer lid adapter from fish of hex so I am pulling moisture that way as well. I purchased a 2nd brs co2 scrubber to install between the skimmer return and the scrubber with the media to catch any excess moisture that gathers in the line as without a catch can I pulled too much water into the media and it formed a big clump.

 

[piranhaman00]

I’m running recirc, what is the danger of excess waster getting pulled into media? Does that destroy it?