CO2 Scrubber Testing

[CoralWealth]

Too much humidity will deplete the CO2 media fast, use the drop in PH more than the color change to figure out if the media is depleted or not.

How do I tell if I have too much humidity? There is no condensation in the actual scrubber since I added a box between the skimmer lid and first chamber.

Before that though, they would completely fill up with condensation and so much that there was water that would hit the media which obviously ruined it

 

[ShadowR55]

How do I tell if I have too much humidity? There is no condensation in the actual scrubber since I added a box between the skimmer lid and first chamber.

Before that though, they would completely fill up with condensation and so much that there was water that would hit the media which obviously ruined it

Did you change the media after that build up? If not, thats why it’s probably half depleted, but now that the condensation is gone, it should last at least a couple weeks. I’m using dual Jumbo reactors that I bought from Amazon, so I can’t really compare my usage with yours.

 

[CoralWealth]

Did you change the media after that build up? If not, that why it’s orobably half deplete, but now that the condensation is gone, it should last at least a couple weeks. I’m using dual Jumbo reactors that I bought from Amazon, so I can’t really compare my usage with yours.

Yes I did, I put brand new media in on Wednesday.

Can you link me to the ones you are using and what skimmer are you using?

 

[ShadowR55]

Yes I did, I put brand new media in on Wednesday.

Can you link me to the ones you are using and what skimmer are you using?

Culligan WH-HD200-C Whole House Sediment Water 1" HD CLR WTR Filter, Clear Bowl, Grey Cap https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JIRLRXY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_im4sCb5VJZJGS

Refillable, Empty Water Filter Cartridge Universal Big Blue (4.5" D x 10" H) Clear by CuZn https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GIHSELU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_in4sCbQP2Z473

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/273184617812

 

[CoralWealth]

Culligan WH-HD200-C Whole House Sediment Water 1" HD CLR WTR Filter, Clear Bowl, Grey Cap https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01JIRLRXY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_im4sCb5VJZJGS

Refillable, Empty Water Filter Cartridge Universal Big Blue (4.5" D x 10" H) Clear by CuZn https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01GIHSELU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_in4sCbQP2Z473

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/273184617812

Thanks!

What skimmer are you using? wondering if you are pulling a lot less air then me and thats why mine changes so fast

 

[2una]

Thanks!
What skimmer are you using? wondering if you are pulling a lot less air then me and thats why mine changes so fast

If you want comparison ideas i have BM D9 & using the double size RO cannister & that lasts me 2 weeks, but i've not got it setup like you guys, i just run direct to the silencer, the cannister sits outside the cabinet.

 

[ShadowR55]

I’m running a reef octopus 200int

 

[CoralWealth]

If you want comparison ideas i have BM D9 & using the double size RO cannister & that lasts me 2 weeks, but i've not got it setup like you guys, i just run direct to the silencer, the cannister sits outside the cabinet.

Thank you! How much does one of those canisters fit, like 3 pounds of media? I am not sure what canister you are talking about. Are you just using one or 2?

I’m running a reef octopus 200int

Alright so that makes a little more sense, your air draw is 1/3 of what mine is using so I definitely should expect it to go through it faster but at this pace, it is crazy fast

 

[2una]

Thank you! How much does one of those canisters fit, like 3 pounds of media? I am not sure what canister you are talking about. Are you just using one or 2?

Standard RO canister is 10 inch the one i use is 20 + it has 2 plastic inserts that fit inside it, with both inserts is 2.2lb of media/1.1 in each.
I'm not US but the inserts would be something similiar to what you use for DI resin.

 

[CoralWealth]

Standard RO canister is 10 inch the one i use is 20 + it has 2 plastic inserts that fit inside it, with both inserts is 2.2lb of media/1.1 in each.
I'm not US but the inserts would be something similiar to what you use for DI resin.

Thanks, so pretty much exactly what I am using in terms of media. I really dont get why mine depletes so fast, very frustrating

 

[2una]

Thanks, so pretty much exactly what I am using in terms of media. I really dont get why mine depletes so fast, very frustrating

Maybe its the moisture? try going from outside sump area to the air silencer & see if its any differant.
The other thing that will work if the problem is carx related is throw a skimmer pump in your sump & see what that does, tho with the B12 i'd be maybe surprised if that's not churning things over enough anyway but maybe worth a look if you have one laying around.

 

[2una]

Carx effluent ? - going in pre skimmer or after? try putting it before the skimmer if its not already

 

[CoralWealth]

Maybe its the moisture? try going from outside sump area to the air silencer & see if its any differant.
The other thing that will work if the problem is carx related is throw a skimmer pump in your sump & see what that does, tho with the B12 i'd be maybe surprised if that's not churning things over enough anyway but maybe worth a look if you have one laying around.

there is no moisture in the canisters though. when I dont do it through the skimmer cup, it lasts at most 2 days so I guess it is just the skimmer using so much air

 

[CoralWealth]

Carx effluent ? - going in pre skimmer or after? try putting it before the skimmer if its not already

its in the same section as the skimmer, the first section

 

[JDowns]

I didn't forget about this. The media is pretty much all purple at this point but the CO2 levels on the output are still under 300ppm. So going to let this go until I start to see a loss in effectiveness from the media. pH is holding at a nice level. A few odd blips on the chart due to maintenance in the sump last week. I could probably even this out a bit by dosing Kalk and Alk during the night instead of spread out over a 24 hour period. But the tank is happy and if it's not broken, I'm not messing with it.

 

[ShadowR55]

I didn't forget about this. The media is pretty much all purple at this point but the CO2 levels on the output are still under 300ppm. So going to let this go until I start to see a loss in effectiveness from the media. pH is holding at a nice level. A few odd blips on the chart due to maintenance in the sump last week. I could probably even this out a bit by dosing Kalk and Alk during the night instead of spread out over a 24 hour period. But the tank is happy and if it's not broken, I'm not messing with it.

That’s great, I wouldn’t dose at night. I have the Alkatronic and tested alk every two hours. The DKH goes up at night by atleast .5 because of less nighttime consumption by the corals. If you were to dose only at night, you would get a big spike every night and big fall every day.

 

[JDowns]

I really want this test to just get over with....... Media is still going strong.

Interesting side note. I normally go through 5 gallons of Kalk a week. I started to notice my Alk drift lower this week, and just manually adjust to get a sense of how much more Alk to dose. Went to fill my 10 gallon Kalk reservoir and noticed its sitting at only 3 gallons of usage. Calibrated DOS and that checked out. Then it dawned on me that DOS was set to shut off if pH got above 8.5. Oops.

 

[JDowns]

I'll have to take back the media still going strong. Looking at todays logs it's starting to drop off the cliff.

It's gone from the ~250ppm range to ~400ppm pretty quick in the last 24 hours, and the media is pretty solid purple at this point. I'll do a data dump tomorrow and change the media.

I do want to do another test, but I'll have to gather some equipment and do some programming as time permits. But my pH has been hitting pretty close to 8.6 every day. As a good average I'm above 8.4 for 12 hours of the day and don't go below 8.3. I think the 8.3 to 8.4 is a pretty solid range. So I want to do a test with a 2 way 3 port solenoid that is pH controlled. When pH hits 8.3 run air through the reactor. When ph hits 8.4 run air from ambient just out of the skimmer. In essence have a pH controlled Co2 reactor. Right now I'm getting almost two months out of the media, if that can be extended by say 50%, thats a huge cost savings on media every year, for not a huge cost in monitoring and control.

I might as well tie this into apex and send alerts if the outlet CO2 gets above ~400ppm as an alert to change the media. At this point there really is no need for two sensors, really only need one on the outlet side. But I already printed the new enclosures....so might as well.

 

[mitch91175]

I'll have to take back the media still going strong. Looking at todays logs it's starting to drop off the cliff.

It's gone from the ~250ppm range to ~400ppm pretty quick in the last 24 hours, and the media is pretty solid purple at this point. I'll do a data dump tomorrow and change the media.

I do want to do another test, but I'll have to gather some equipment and do some programming as time permits. But my pH has been hitting pretty close to 8.6 every day. As a good average I'm above 8.4 for 12 hours of the day and don't go below 8.3. I think the 8.3 to 8.4 is a pretty solid range. So I want to do a test with a 2 way 3 port solenoid that is pH controlled. When pH hits 8.3 run air through the reactor. When ph hits 8.4 run air from ambient just out of the skimmer. In essence have a pH controlled Co2 reactor. Right now I'm getting almost two months out of the media, if that can be extended by say 50%, thats a huge cost savings on media every year, for not a huge cost in monitoring and control.

I might as well tie this into apex and send alerts if the outlet CO2 gets above ~400ppm as an alert to change the media. At this point there really is no need for two sensors, really only need one on the outlet side. But I already printed the new enclosures....so might as well.

The gadget guys in me would love to have one of these readers. You plan on sharing spec or selling? Running a CO2 scrubber and would like to know if any changes help extend media, etc.

 

[JDowns]

The gadget guys in me would love to have one of these readers. You plan on sharing spec or selling? Running a CO2 scrubber and would like to know if any changes help extend media, etc.

Running the media dry is pretty much a waste. I got just about 10 days out of it.

Running with water in the reactor and pulling normal ambient air lasted just over 30 days.

Running out of the skimmer cup and the media has lasted just about 50 days, so a significant improvement in longevity and without looking at the logs I'm pretty sure the average pH has also increased over time.

Not planning on productizing this and can share some of the specs and code as well as some 3D designs for the enclosures. I can change some things so its Arduino friendly for the average hobbiest.