CO2 scrubber not raising PH. Something wrong?

[ShepherdTech]

I got married on November 22 of 2020 to a wonderful woman and now have two kids and a third dog. She is finishing out her teaching contract and they will be moving from Tennessee to Alabama with me. We have been traveling back and forth, staying overnight some weekdays and all holidays, but it’s tough with a 1:40 minute drive each way.

I noticed a trend, when they come down my PH goes down as well. I have a 220 display, with a Reef Octopus SSS250 and decided to Order an icecap CO2 scrubber. I installed the scrubber (no instructions) and initially had the air line on the center port, but have now moved it to the outer port, still no difference in PH. I decided to recirculate it and opened up a hole in the skimmer lid, but still no real difference. Am I missing something? I did not add any water to the scrubber and others said they didn’t add water and it did work for them. What gives? Screenshot below and you can see when they came over, as the PH drops the next day. Thoughts?

 

[GoingBroke88]

I have no real answers for your scrubber question. I was coming to look for answers myself as my pH only seemed to improve a tiny bit with a scrubber. BTW, I didn't see any screenshot attached. Congratulations on getting married!

 

[ShepherdTech]

I have no real answers for your scrubber question. I was coming to look for answers myself as my pH only seemed to improve a tiny bit with a scrubber. BTW, I didn't see any screenshot attached. Congratulations on getting married!

Should be there now and thank-you!

 

[Reef man 89]

The Co2 media needs to be moist. Add a little water to bottom of reactor

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

In general, even a perfectly operating scrubber is fighting against tank top aeration, and so the relative aerating abilities of these and other locations in the system (e.g., an overflow, the sump, etc.) will determine how effective a scrubber is.

 

[LardLad]

I have never heard of making the media moist. That may be true but I can't imagine why. doesn't sound right to me. I would definitely not do that . My cartridges are medical cartridges used for anesthesia machines. I will tell you that my scrubber is huge about 1.25 liter media with particulate filters on each end. This is driven by both sides of a whisper 60 air pump then feeding a Lee's limewood AirStone. This feeds my updraft algae scrubber. Even with a very oversized and Powerful CO2 scrubber, I can only expect that my normal 8.0 pH will be driven up to 8.2 at the most. But you take any advantage you can get. In reality an increase of pH from 8.0 to 8.2 is significant. So number Chasers maybe slightly let down because you need to understand the significance of small changes in PH.

 

[mdb_talon]

Before i hooked up an outside airline i used soda lime scrubber and never moistened it. I would see a .2 ph increase. When i switched to outside airline i see about .3 increase.

 

[jrill]

Putting a bit if water at the bottom of my soda lime reactor made a sever degree difference. It was recommended with my BRS reactor.

 

[HuduVudu]

I think it is better to know the actual CO2 for your house. Once you establish that level you can make some decisions about the best way to deal with it. I went through this, you can see my build thread for more information. Just blindly implementing a solution without quantifying the problem is a lesson in frustration.

 

[vic5hands]

In my opinion a CO2 scrubber is a lost cause

 

[Mical]

I have a pair of the ice cap CO2 scrubbers and they work great. Without them my PH ran 7.8-8.0 and sometimes lower. After adding them both of my tanks run 8.01-8.38. I only use them in winter here in Minnesota.

I run the line from outer outlet to skimmer and center is open to indoor air.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

In my opinion a CO2 scrubber is a lost cause

While I never needed or used one, lots of folks are quite happy with them.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I have never heard of making the media moist. That may be true but I can't imagine why. doesn't sound right to me. I would definitely not do that .

The effect of moisture is real and understood. It is also observed by many reefers in practice.

This from 75 years ago:


THE EFFECT OF VARYING THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF SODA LIME UPON THE EFFICIENCY OF CARBON DIOXIDE ABSORPTION

THE EFFECT OF VARYING THE MOISTURE CONTENT OF SODA LIME UPON THE EFFICIENCY OF CARBON DIOXIDE ABSORPTION

From The Department of Anesthesia, Charity Hospital of Louisiana and the Department of Surgery, Louisiana State University School of Medicine, New Orleans.

pubs.asahq.org

"Water plays an important role in many chemical reactions. In carbon dioxide absorption, water is important in two phases of the chemical reaction. First, it is necessary to convert carbon dioxide into carbonic acid, so that neutralization may occur. Second, it facilitates the reaction of regeneration".

I expect the "regeneration" they refer to involves mixing of materials from subsurface regions to the exterior monolayer where CO2 first attaches.

 

[markh]

How much water please. Per gram of media?

 

[jmichaelh7]

Scrubbers make my ph go from 8.10 to 8.5 if I don’t turn it off.

I have dogs and family inside house 24/7. Check the media and change it out if it’s not doing anything.

I barely read that you need 5ml of water at bottom