CO2 Scrubber question

[Jaysushi]

I installed a CO2 scrubber yesterday evening and I made sure to hook it up correctly. I added a tbsp of RODI water to the bottom of the canister and then filled the cartridge up with BRS CO2 media and installed it back on correctly.

My pH was actually dropping a bit and then slowly started raising and then drops again. Now, since I have the skimmer lid open slightly because I haven’t drilled the lid yet, would that affect the pH?

Here is the pic for reference

 

[Joshua Mummery]

the lid opened like that will not affect your PH, I have the same setup for co2 scrubber. When i had the intake hose in my cabinet i was changing the media once a week, now i run the hose out of my stand and behind my couch. Pulling fresh air is always better for your PH and helps the CO2 scubber as well.

 

[miniChou]

The BRS instructions says to connect the CO2 scubber directly to the skimmer pump and by-pass the skimmer silencer. It looks like yours is connected to the silencer. I have the same CO2 scrubber arriving today, so let me know how it goes.

 

[Clownfishy]

The BRS instructions says to connect the CO2 scubber directly to the skimmer pump and by-pass the skimmer silencer. It looks like yours is connected to the silencer. I have the same CO2 scrubber arriving today, so let me know how it goes.

I would be interested to understand what difference BRS believe this to be?

 

[ca1ore]

It would be unnecessary wouldn't it since the CO2 scrubber will silence any venturi noise. I'd imagine it depends on the skimmer, but the more resistance on the air line the worse the skimmer will perform. FWIW, fresh air or CO2 scrubbing never made any difference to the pH of my tank.

 

[miniChou]

@Clownfishy your post about you raising PH with a CO2 scrubber is one of the main reason why I decided to give it a try on my tank! I don't necessarily have low pH (swings between 7.95-8.25 daily). However, when I go on vacation it ticks up by about 0.15 points. Not a whole lot, but enough that I have to increase my daily Alk & Ca dosing while I'm on vacation in order to maintain the same levels. I've also noticed slighty faster coral growth during my absence. I figured if I could keep my pH at this slightly higher number all the time, I could maintain this increased growth rate. I'm trying the CO2 scrubber without the use of a solenoid first to see how well it works in my tank. If it get the results I'm looking for, I'll use the solenoid concept.

 

[miniChou]

@Clownfishy it's been a while since you posted about your CO2 scrubber. Any updates? How has it been performing? Do you have any new tips to share?

 

[Clownfishy]

It would be unnecessary wouldn't it since the CO2 scrubber will silence any venturi noise. I'd imagine it depends on the skimmer, but the more resistance on the air line the worse the skimmer will perform. FWIW, fresh air or CO2 scrubbing never made any difference to the pH of my tank.

That makes sense. May consider this but not sure how I can control the amount of air going into my Nyos 120 skimmer but will give it a go today and see if can bypass this problem by adjusting the skimmer water level. When I was running my Tunze 9012, I did bypass the air silencer but that skimmer did not draw in as much air as the Nyos. Will keep you posted.

 

[Clownfishy]

@Clownfishy your post about you raising PH with a CO2 scrubber is one of the main reason why I decided to give it a try on my tank! I don't necessarily have low pH (swings between 7.95-8.25 daily). However, when I go on vacation it ticks up by about 0.15 points. Not a whole lot, but enough that I have to increase my daily Alk & Ca dosing while I'm on vacation in order to maintain the same levels. I've also noticed slighty faster coral growth during my absence. I figured if I could keep my pH at this slightly higher number all the time, I could maintain this increased growth rate. I'm trying the CO2 scrubber without the use of a solenoid first to see how well it works in my tank. If it get the results I'm looking for, I'll use the solenoid concept.

Wow, I am glad I helped someone on here as this forum has certainly helped me out. I probably need to go back and update that post as a few things have changed. I have kept using two C02 scrubbers and am very pleased with the results. I am still burning through the media every 2 weeks but I have found a place to purchase the media much cheaper so I am not worried. I am sure some of you already know about this but divers use this media for their re breathers and they sell the media at a much lower price than I can purchase from most other places here in the UK so I order if from them.
Its interesting you say the pH goes up when you are on holiday, I guess your aquarium appreciates you not being around breathing out C02!!!!!! Be interested to see how you progress with a C02 scrubber.

 

[Clownfishy]

@Clownfishy it's been a while since you posted about your CO2 scrubber. Any updates? How has it been performing? Do you have any new tips to share?

I will update the post in the next few days as I am still running with it and very pleased with the results although I have been battling Dinos recently so my focus has been with that!

 

[miniChou]

I will update the post in the next few days as I am still running with it and very pleased with the results although I have been battling Dinos recently so my focus has been with that!

Awesome! I look forward to it! I’d be interested to see what media you found.

 

[JDowns]

You'll still want to make sure you have some humidity in the scrubber chamber. Adding a bit of water to the bottom, but not touching the media will greatly extend the life of the media. I get about 60 days out of the media with the jumbo scrubber.

 

[Jaysushi]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I ended up drilling a 3/8" hole on my skimmer lid and stuck one of the lines in there to recycle the scrubbed air.
My pH still sits low at 7.9-8.08 according to my Apex pH probe. I would like to be around a steady 8.1-8.2 as far as that goes.
I did add 1 Tbsp of RODI water to the reactor before putting in the cartridge filled with the CO2 media so that it wouldn't make contact.
This has been setup since Monday so I am hoping that it will get better lol. Fingers crossed.

 

[Clownfishy]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I ended up drilling a 3/8" hole on my skimmer lid and stuck one of the lines in there to recycle the scrubbed air.
My pH still sits low at 7.9-8.08 according to my Apex pH probe. I would like to be around a steady 8.1-8.2 as far as that goes.
I did add 1 Tbsp of RODI water to the reactor before putting in the cartridge filled with the CO2 media so that it wouldn't make contact.
This has been setup since Monday so I am hoping that it will get better lol. Fingers crossed.

Weird as I would have expected to see a rise in pH by now. Apologies if you have stated this already but when was the last time you recalibrated your probe?

 

[Clownfishy]

Thanks for all the advice everyone! I ended up drilling a 3/8" hole on my skimmer lid and stuck one of the lines in there to recycle the scrubbed air.
My pH still sits low at 7.9-8.08 according to my Apex pH probe. I would like to be around a steady 8.1-8.2 as far as that goes.
I did add 1 Tbsp of RODI water to the reactor before putting in the cartridge filled with the CO2 media so that it wouldn't make contact.
This has been setup since Monday so I am hoping that it will get better lol. Fingers crossed.

Is there any chance you can get a feed to the C02 scrubber from outside the house as a test e.g. route some air line through a gap in the window? Be interested if this helps. Also, what is the water volume of you tank and is the skimmer air intake fully open?

 

[miniChou]

Just installed mine last night. Double check and make sure that the tube on the side of the scrubber that is labeled “Out” is going into your skimmer’s pump, and the tube on the side of the scrubber that’s labeled “In” is going to your skimmer’s waste cup. I made this mistake last night. Also make sure the scrubber chamber is screwed on as tight as you can by hand.

I saw immediate pH results once mine was installed.

 

[Jaysushi]

I’ll have to double check the canister and right now I have my out line going to the air intake, but the air intake is almost completely screwed down all the way. I actually saw an increase this way rather than my silencer being completely open.

I may try to hook up the out line to my venturi and see if that works better. My pH probe was last calibrated when I bought my Apex earlier this year in February.

 

[miniChou]

You'll still want to make sure you have some humidity in the scrubber chamber. Adding a bit of water to the bottom, but not touching the media will greatly extend the life of the media. I get about 60 days out of the media with the jumbo scrubber.

Holy smokes, how are you getting 60 days from your media!?! You must share your secret and setup with us! The BRS Universal Co2 scrubber holds about a 1 lbs of media. How much does the jumbo hold? Is the Jumbo one that much more efficient? I asked BRS this question before buying the cheaper Universal one, and they said the Jumbo is built using high quality material - they didn't mention anything about performance.

Do you use a solenoid? What pH level do you keep your tank at with your scrubber? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really interested on how you are achieving 60 days.

 

[JDowns]

Holy smokes, how are you getting 60 days from your media!?! You must share your secret and setup with us! The BRS Universal Co2 scrubber holds about a 1 lbs of media. How much does the jumbo hold? Is the Jumbo one that much more efficient? I asked BRS this question before buying the cheaper Universal one, and they said the Jumbo is built using high quality material - they didn't mention anything about performance.

Do you use a solenoid? What pH level do you keep your tank at with your scrubber? Sorry for all the questions, but I'm really interested on how you are achieving 60 days.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/co2-scrubber-testing.482361/

 

[Jaysushi]

Is there any chance you can get a feed to the C02 scrubber from outside the house as a test e.g. route some air line through a gap in the window? Be interested if this helps. Also, what is the water volume of you tank and is the skimmer air intake fully open?

An airline to a window may be an option but I’d need to route it far. My total water volume is roughly 75gal