Can this CO2 scrubber setup cause health issues?

[JCOLE]

I ran my skimmer inlet outside but my skimmer didn't have enough suction to operate properly. I added an air pump to give it some assistance. I also have it running through a canister with CO2 media(soda lime) and it is running great.

See picture below. Red line is inlet from outside to the air pump. Green line is output to the co2 scrubber. Yellow line is output from scrubber to skimmer. Circled in purple is a "T" to assist with back pressure. Whatever the skimmer doesn't use gets exhausted out of the T.

Is there a concern to breathe in the exhausted air that is getting released into my garage? I read that soda lime can cause some serious side effects if inhaled.

Also, I know, why run a scrubber with outside air? I want to use a scrubber because the outside inlet is near plants, etc and want to scrub as much as possible.

 

[jhuntstl]

I can't help with your question, but I am curious what air pump you're using. I ran my skimmer line outside with a co2 scrubber inside and experienced the same skimmer issue. I had an air pump, but it was not inline...so just for fun, I set it up outside to feed the scrubber. I used an adjustable valve to regulate the air flow. It was a total pain to dial in, so that experiment ended quickly. That T exhaust is a good idea.

 

[Dan_P]

I ran my skimmer inlet outside but my skimmer didn't have enough suction to operate properly. I added an air pump to give it some assistance. I also have it running through a canister with CO2 media(soda lime) and it is running great.

See picture below. Red line is inlet from outside to the air pump. Green line is output to the co2 scrubber. Yellow line is output from scrubber to skimmer. Circled in purple is a "T" to assist with back pressure. Whatever the skimmer doesn't use gets exhausted out of the T.

Is there a concern to breathe in the exhausted air that is getting released into my garage? I read that soda lime can cause some serious side effects if inhaled.

Also, I know, why run a scrubber with outside air? I want to use a scrubber because the outside inlet is near plants, etc and want to scrub as much as possible.

The primary health concern about soda lime is that it is very caustic and getting it on your skin or inhaling it can damage your skin, eyes, throat, etc. The exposure is likely to occur when handling the material, charging and emptying the reactor. The exhaust from the CO2 scrubber is not likely to be an issue.

Skimmer airlines are run outside to draw air that has a lower CO2 content.

 

[JCOLE]

The primary health concern about soda lime is that it is very caustic and getting it on your skin or inhaling it can damage your skin, eyes, throat, etc. The exposure is likely to occur when handling the material, charging and emptying the reactor. The exhaust from the CO2 scrubber is not likely to be an issue.

Skimmer airlines are run outside to draw air that has a lower CO2 content.

I was concerned with the soda lime breaking down overtime and causing dust to fly out into the open. Probably not likely and me just being overly dramatic about it. I went ahead and removed the media from the scrubber last night and will wait to use it again.

The media was already starting to change to purple. It was a new unopened bag placed in the scrubber for about 2 hours. I guarantee it all would have been solid purple within 48 hours.

This leads to another question. Could my outside air have higher levels of CO2 than I think, could my air pump cause that, could the force of the air from pump through the scrubber cause that?

 

[JCOLE]

I can't help with your question, but I am curious what air pump you're using. I ran my skimmer line outside with a co2 scrubber inside and experienced the same skimmer issue. I had an air pump, but it was not inline...so just for fun, I set it up outside to feed the scrubber. I used an adjustable valve to regulate the air flow. It was a total pain to dial in, so that experiment ended quickly. That T exhaust is a good idea.

I am using a pump that is probably too big for this application. I wanted more though incase I needed air for other things. It works well and yes, it was hard to dial in before I put the T in. The T allows the skimmer to pull everything it can and then the remainder gets exhausted through the T.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

When adequately pure and when used properly, there is no concern as it is widely used for air breathed by people. If it seems to get dusty, something may be wrong, or you need to humidify the air.

Soda lime - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

"Soda lime is a mixture of NaOH & CaO chemicals, used in granular form in closed breathing environments, such as general anaesthesia,"

 

[Dan_P]

I was concerned with the soda lime breaking down overtime and causing dust to fly out into the open. Probably not likely and me just being overly dramatic about it. I went ahead and removed the media from the scrubber last night and will wait to use it again.

The media was already starting to change to purple. It was a new unopened bag placed in the scrubber for about 2 hours. I guarantee it all would have been solid purple within 48 hours.

This leads to another question. Could my outside air have higher levels of CO2 than I think, could my air pump cause that, could the force of the air from pump through the scrubber cause that?

Outside air CO2 concentration should be lower than house air. Can’t imagine anyway a pump could increase CO2 concentration. As for how quickly the soda lime is being used, yes, pumping air through it could definitely use it up faster than just letting enough air through the soda lime to feed the skimmer.

 

[Morpheosz]

I am using a pump that is probably too big for this application. I wanted more though incase I needed air for other things. It works well and yes, it was hard to dial in before I put the T in. The T allows the skimmer to pull everything it can and then the remainder gets exhausted through the T.

I realize you're probably way past this now as this post is getting old but I just came across it while engineering my way around my CO2 setup. My strong suspicion is that your media went quickly due to the "remainder" you were pushing through the tee. You were likely pushing way more air through the media with the air pump than a skimmer would naturally pull. It was a great idea to solve your pressure problem, I suspect it would work if you could somehow dial the air pressure in just right so that you're not exhausting any and you're just negating the back pressure and eliminate the tee. Perhaps some sort of needle valve for the line from the air pump?

 

[I.AM.MR.MIKE]

One word that I regret not doing sooner.... RECIRCULATE. Media lasts so long.

 

[calli]

I second the recirculate idea, no need to drag outside air into the system.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I’m not a fan of recirculating as it eliminates a benefit if a skimmer: oxygenation.

 

[calli]

I’m not a fan of recirculating as it eliminates a benefit if a skimmer: oxygenation.

But do we not get enough oxygenation from the crashing water in the sump, or the powerheads on the surface?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

But do we not get enough oxygenation from the crashing water in the sump, or the powerheads on the surface?

If your pH changes day to night (which is normal) then gas exchange is not complete.

Oxygen may be easier to equilibrate than CO2 (impacting pH), but it is harder than most people assume.