Can a cO2 scrubber actually get cO2 down to zero ?

[14 foot reef]

Can a cO2 scrubber actually get cO2 down to zero ? or does it just drop cO2 down to some little lower number than 400 of natural air outside ?
If a scrubber can actually get outside air down to zero or near zero, I may try a large DIY version. If it can only get 400 down to 300, then probably not worth the cost.
Thanks for your input on this

 

[Doctorgori]

…not with the stuff you get from BRS lately …heck what stuff are you using,

 

[elysics]

The actual chemicals can get it close to 0. The question is how much of it fits into whatever container you choose, what form it has, how much air you put through, etc.

 

[jda]

If your co2 is near 400 you should not need a scrubber. With a CaRx, my co2 has to get near 800 to move the pH to where I don't like it, but under 700 is better.

With the scrubber, this is just one input source. ...so even if you have zero ppm of co2 coming into the skimmer, the surface of the tank, sump, etc. all will be in household co2 air. Usually the surface area wins this math equation. I doubt that nobody can afford to scrub the entire room where the tank and sump are.

 

[14 foot reef]

If your co2 is near 400 you should not need a scrubber. With a CaRx, my co2 has to get near 800 to move the pH to where I don't like it, but under 700 is better.

With the scrubber, this is just one input source. ...so even if you have zero ppm of co2 coming into the skimmer, the surface of the tank, sump, etc. all will be in household co2 air. Usually the surface area wins this math equation. I doubt that nobody can afford to scrub the entire room where the tank and sump are.

my skimmer is outside in an open 24/7 garage with air at 400ppm. My house runs between 500-700 all the time. My skimmer is huge, dual Mazzi venturi running about 3000gph hour through it. So is it possible to have a 5 gallon bucket as a media reactor and pull the outside air down close to zero. or will it cost me $100.00-200.00 a month in media as its exhausted quickly with that many SCFH pulling through the media.( about 100 SCFH ) of air movement.
Skimmer is very large.

 

[jda]

If your house is at 500-700, why do you need a co2 scrubber at all? Are you running a huge reactor with a poor tune that is dumping lots of co2 into your tank? Is it possible that your meter or probe is not calibrated correctly?

 

[14 foot reef]

@jda I really respect your reefing and knowledge, you've been a huge contributor to this forum forever. My next statement may drive you crazy, but I am experimenting with PH.
I am truly running a flat PH in my system day and night, my low is 8.25 and my high is 8.29 consistantly. I know you would call that a win and sit back and watch the magic, but I'm trying to toy with elevating my PH to 8.35 low to 8.45 high and run that for awhile and see if I see accelerated growth in my SPS with the higher PH. I love this hobby and have been in it for 40 + years and I am at the point of toying with projects on the reef. I know this will cost money and may not make any difference, but my reef has been in a stable state for 3 years and really want to push some experiments through it. Thanks for you input and response.

 

[jda]

That is totally cool. I was just trying to make sure that you did not have a CaRx that was dumping co2 into your tank like crazy or something, which happens when people follow that dudes YouTube video about throwing your instruction manual in the trash. Tinker away... that is what makes this hobby fun for many.

I am just curious, why not dripping kalk? It is likely cheaper. Too risky? If so, I totally get that.

 

[14 foot reef]

That is totally cool. I was just trying to make sure that you did not have a CaRx that was dumping co2 into your tank like crazy or something, which happens when people follow that dudes YouTube video about throwing your instruction manual in the trash. Tinker away... that is what makes this hobby fun for many.

I am just curious, why not dripping kalk? It is likely cheaper. Too risky? If so, I totally get that.

I dose Kalk reverse lighting schedule 15000ml per day yes (15000) from 10:00 pm until 12:00 noon
I also dose Sodium Hydroxide 360ml 24/7 controlled by Trident dosing schedule and DOS head.
That's how I'm able to be so flat 24/7 on ph.
So mygoal now is, to see if all these claims of elevated PH are true, or a bunch of BS to sell more BS....LOL

My system is 850 gallons. I do not run a CaRx ( Yet....... )

 

[jda]

Cool. Let us know if you see anything. I never saw any huge difference between a 7.8 to 8.0 tank and a 8.15 to 8.35 tank with growth and color, but I also never got below 7.8 - Missouri with hot/humid air with pollen in it vs Colorado cool and low humidity air with less pollen. I have seen some stuff that this matters, and some that it does not. I would be interested to see what you find out as an unbiased non-noobie who knows what they are looking at.