CO2 scrubbers?

[Mark Novack]

Hello,
What is the life of a CO2 scrubber for placing on a skimmer intake? Of course, mileage will vary but what is an average life span? Next, what is the material inside? Can it be purchased from industrial supply stores to refill those filters at a democratic price? I'll be running a calcium reactor and my home is tight and closed with too many children, animals and a mother-in-law with lots of CO2 to expell, yada-yada-yada. Talk about over stocking...here its the house, the aquarium doesn't even have water yet. I'm still cleaning and assembling.

I might also like to place a scrubber as an intake for the Durso. My tank is 710 liters plus 140 liters sump. With a turnover of 3500 to 4000 liters per hour, how much air is being pullled into the Durso air intake? Is it equal to the water volume?

I wish I had given more attention in school to all of those things that had no practical application because now they do. Geometry/Trig and chemistry are biggies that I have needed and now regret drooling and napping through school.

Thank You,
Mark

 

[vetteguy53081]

Hello,
What is the life of a CO2 scrubber for placing on a skimmer intake? Of course, mileage will vary but what is an average life span? Next, what is the material inside? Can it be purchased from industrial supply stores to refill those filters at a democratic price? I'll be running a calcium reactor and my home is tight and closed with too many children, animals and a mother-in-law with lots of CO2 to expell, yada-yada-yada. Talk about over stocking...here its the house, the aquarium doesn't even have water yet. I'm still cleaning and assembling.

I might also like to place a scrubber as an intake for the Durso. My tank is 710 liters plus 140 liters sump. With a turnover of 3500 to 4000 liters per hour, how much air is being pullled into the Durso air intake? Is it equal to the water volume?

I wish I had given more attention in school to all of those things that had no practical application because now they do. Geometry/Trig and chemistry are biggies that I have needed and now regret drooling and napping through school.

Thank You,
Mark

Most CO2 resins change color when expired

 

[jda]

Nobody can give you anything but a swag, but size of the reactor matters, co2 in the home, etc. They use soda lime. They work, but you will likely have to change the media a lot in most cases. Just make a plan to air the house out. Your kids, dogs and mother in law will thank you too... high co2, low o2 is not good for humans or dogs either. My wife and kids can tell when I air out the house in the winter - I did it last week when it was 60 degrees and my 18 year old came home and told me that the house air slapped.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

To give you an idea using specifics, you can extrapolate using your own setup. I have a 200 gallon system, average co2 levels around the tank are 700-1000ppm and I'm using two big blue ro canisters from brs with media from medvet. I am drawing outside air through it (this is important, why scrub high co2?) On a red octopus 200ext skimmer and it lasts me a little over two weeks.

 

[14 foot reef]

I found that CO2 scrubbing was not worth the money in media. So much easier and cheaper to fix your indoor air quality than to try and scrub your way out of it. I no longer use my CO2 Scrubber. Bought a $100.00 CO2 meter and just open the house up as needed.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I found that CO2 scrubbing was not worth the money in media. So much easier and cheaper to fix your indoor air quality than to try and scrub your way out of it. I no longer use my CO2 Scrubber. Bought a $100.00 CO2 meter and just open the house up as needed.

Move to Canada and see how well your solution works in February. I disagree with that statement all day long. No one's budget is the same and you can buy a truck load of media for what it takes to put an erv/hrv system in your home which is the only real way to fix some CO2 issues across the board. It's just not a good blanket statement for everyone spread out across geographies and in different dwellings. Ppl stuck in an apartment don't even have that option in most cases. It can often be a real world compromise.

 

[14 foot reef]

Move to Canada and see how well your solution works in February. I disagree with that statement all day long. No one's budget is the same and you can buy a truck load of media for what it takes to put an erv/hrv system in your home which is the only real way to fix some CO2 issues across the board. It's just not a good blanket statement for everyone spread out across geographies and in different dwellings. Ppl stuck in an apartment don't even have that option in most cases. It can often be a real world compromise.

Just said " I found" .........good luck with your issue, was only stating what worked for me.
The old saying goes, you get more bees with honey. I hope you solve your problem.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

No

Just said " I found" .........good luck with your issue, was only stating what worked for me.
The old saying goes, you get more bees with honey. I hope you solve your problem.

No problems here that haven't already been solved.

 

[mdb_talon]

I found that CO2 scrubbing was not worth the money in media. So much easier and cheaper to fix your indoor air quality than to try and scrub your way out of it. I no longer use my CO2 Scrubber. Bought a $100.00 CO2 meter and just open the house up as needed.

Easily done in a temperate climate not a reasonable solution for many of us.

 

[jda]

I live in a cold climate for a lot of the year and it is plenty doable if you think about it and want to. Even if it hits 30 degrees, 15-20 minutes with a box fan and 2 windows does a lot. This is not long enough to get your carpet, furniture and walls cold and the new air heats up fast...we are not taking all night or where the room actually cools off... just new air. If you hit a warm wave at 50-60 degrees then a few hours can set you up for a month. I think that too many people discount this without trying it.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

I live in a cold climate for a lot of the year and it is plenty doable if you think about it and want to. Even if it hits 30 degrees, 15-20 minutes with a box fan and 2 windows does a lot. This is not long enough to get your carpet, furniture and walls cold and the new air heats up fast...we are not taking all night or where the room actually cools off... just new air. If you hit a warm wave at 50-60 degrees then a few hours can set you up for a month. I think that too many people discount this without trying it.

Sure... It'll work but I'll still argue it's not a sustainable and reliable solution when the goal is stability. Fall asleep, travel, inclement weather etc etc. If it's an intensive maintenance task it'll fall apart fast.

 

[jda]

Like filling up an ATO reservoir or 2 part bottles, feeding fish, dosing whatever you might dose, changing water... or nearly everything else with our tanks?

...only with this, if the pH falls a bit, then tanks still lives and nothing crashes.

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Like filling up an ATO reservoir or 2 part bottles, feeding fish, dosing whatever you might dose, changing water... or nearly everything else with our tanks?

...only with this, if the pH falls a bit, then tanks still lives and nothing crashes.

Now we just may be splitting infinitives lol

 

[Flameback Pair]

@Mark Novack Soda Lime is used in surgery anesthesia to recirculate the air/anesthesia going to the patient. Since the media takes out CO2, it is better quality air going to patient and anesthesia is recycled. I found a source: shopmedvet.com in 5 gallon bucket to save in bulk but might check with my veterinarian to see if he can get it for me through his account/bulk.

 

[Mark Novack]

Move to Canada and see how well your solution works in February. I disagree with that statement all day long. No one's budget is the same and you can buy a truck load of media for what it takes to put an erv/hrv system in your home which is the only real way to fix some CO2 issues across the board. It's just not a good blanket statement for everyone spread out across geographies and in different dwellings. Ppl stuck in an apartment don't even have that option in most cases. It can often be a real world compromise.

Yeah. That's about right. At 53 degrees north with gas and utilities costing on average 4x the price of what I paid in the USA, opening the house would be financially crippling. 12 dollars per gallon for diesel, I'm lucky to be able to go to the store to buy salt. Gas, electricity, they all follow suit. I have 40 solar panels to cut my 7K electric bill down 3/4. Without those, the aquarium goes.

 

[Mark Novack]

Ah ha, Soda Lime for general anesthesia or diving is what I'm looking for? Is 140 dollars a good price for 44 pounds of medical grade spheres? My son is the city hospital's administrative director. I'm sure he can get me an even better price if that is the good medium.

Mark

 

[JonEB]

My story

Perfect PH!

My story and how I finally reached 8.3PH! Also please let me know, have you achieved 8.3PH? And how did you get there? Ok so for those interested in PH from a “layman’s reef” I’m only a barely second year reef hobbyist with a 50gal tank/sump system living in western Colorado. My tank has...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Mark Novack]

Hooked up a scrubber yesterday at 1230 with the PH 8.0. This morning, 1030, lights still in twilight mode, PH was 8.2. This is a first in my house. Years I have confounded myself over low Ph, tried suggestions, opened windows, contolled the alkalinity daily, held seances, etc, etc, and all I needed to do was hook a tube up to a can of soda lime pellets. Yeah, installation took 10 seconds. One problem solved with one super easy solution! Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is science at work!!!!!! I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it...its logical. The same atmospheric CO2 levels that are acidifying the oceans are everywhere but the effects are magnified in an aquarium. Its not a biological problem in the aquarium but a fact of today's atmospheric CO2 levels. Even an aquarium can benefit from wearing a mask.

My fish store sells it as a veterinary treatment so instead of 21% sales tax its 6%. Very nice idea and I am grateful.

 

[Bpb]

It can be helpful to boost PH slightly. I use it and it boosts my high point from about 7.9 to 8.1 when it's fresh. It slowly drops over about a 2 week span and I need to refill it. It also works best if moist air is running through it, so I need to add about 20 mL of water into the reactor intake to sit at the bottom basically daily, just part of my routine. I'm sure with a larger reactor I could get more time between refills. It's just another thing that adds cost to running a tank. Those who live in cold, mild, and/or dry climates can really enjoy frequent opening of the house up, which is free and equally/more effective. Those of us who live in areas of 80+ humidity and 90-100 degree temps for half the year it's not as feasible. I'd sooner open up the windows when it is 20 degrees outside, than when it is 110 degrees outside. Ive been in cold and very hot climates, and windows open is just not a solution during hot months. The humidity and heat become quite unpleasant, very fast. And when you live in a house with 6 people the co2 builds right back up in a hurry. Those who enjoy 20-60 degree temps and have 1-2 people living in their house year round, I understand why you say "just open up a window!" Every situation is different.

I get soda lime at wholesale so it's actually pretty cheap. Costs me about $50 a year to run it which is negligible. If you're paying retail...I'd consider another solution maybe if you have extreme low PH issues. Air exchangers, or if you have any amount of need to supplement calcium and alkalinity, consider getting yourself up to full saturation kalkwasser first, before using 2 part or a calcium reactor. Hope that helps

 

[RobB'z Reef]

Hooked up a scrubber yesterday at 1230 with the PH 8.0. This morning, 1030, lights still in twilight mode, PH was 8.2. This is a first in my house. Years I have confounded myself over low Ph, tried suggestions, opened windows, contolled the alkalinity daily, held seances, etc, etc, and all I needed to do was hook a tube up to a can of soda lime pellets. Yeah, installation took 10 seconds. One problem solved with one super easy solution! Now that, ladies and gentlemen, is science at work!!!!!! I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it...its logical. The same atmospheric CO2 levels that are acidifying the oceans are everywhere but the effects are magnified in an aquarium. Its not a biological problem in the aquarium but a fact of today's atmospheric CO2 levels. Even an aquarium can benefit from wearing a mask.

My fish store sells it as a veterinary treatment so instead of 21% sales tax its 6%. Very nice idea and I am grateful.

Technically not an atmospheric problem globally, most homes simply have elevated CO2 due to air exchange issues. Outside air is around 400ppm, the air in the room your tank sits in can be considerably higher.