Do CO2 scrubbers work?

[nhorner]

Hell yes!!
I have been running one for a while and I notice a significant difference in my growth.

Also when the scrubbing media is expended my doser starts to add to much or levels increase to fast.
When I change it it's normal...
it's awesome!!! You can message me more for specifics if you want

 

[Fritzhamer]

They do work but in my experience a CO2 scrubber isn't the most efficient way to deal with the issue at hand. In the winter our homes are closed up and the CO2 builds. This lowers the ph of our tanks. Yes a CO2 scrubber will remove some CO2 but it will also cause your skimmer to pull less air and it's an extra piece of equipment and it's another consumable product you have to keep replenishing.

In the planted tank world the winter is awesome for the above reasons. When you are trying to grow plants higher CO2 is always welcomed. You however have to match the higher CO2 with higher lighting and higher nutrients. These three components lead to very rapid growth of plants and uptake of nutrients.

Bringing that info back to the reefing world, a refugium with some serious lighting on it is a far, far better solution than a CO2 scrubber. With some cheato under some cheap LED grow lights, there's no consumable product, no decrease in air to your skimmer, there is more equipment (the lights).

The benefits however aren't just higher PH, it's also massive uptake of nutrients that your skimmer can't help with. My night time PH goes as high as 8.4, it's my daytime PH that drops to 8. My tank is in the basement where the windows are never ever opened.

A fuge also breeds pods as well as all the other well documented benefits that go with it. You don't need a big fuge either, just some cheap (High Powered) led grow lights, some cheato and you're set.

I think the better question is "why still run a CO2 scrubber when there are better options that won't cut your skimmers output?"

 

[XNavyDiver]

I think the better question is "why still run a CO2 scrubber when there are better options that won't cut your skimmers output?"

Because I already run a fuge growing cheato using a Kessil 380 grow lamp and pH still remains low.

 

[Scurvy]

Thus my inquiry. I don't test my pH either, but the apex does and it stares me in the face every time on Fusion...mocking me.

My problem as well.

 

[Fritzhamer]

Because I already run a fuge growing cheato using a Kessil 380 grow lamp and pH still remains low.

Maybe it's the 380. Don't get me wrong, I run an AP700 on my display. I'm happy with kessils. I tried an H80 and it wasn't able to grow cheato for me. Under the H80 my cheato was dark green and had tight curls, indicative of not receiving enough light. I switched to one and then two of these:

TaoTronics LED Grow Light Bulb, Grow Lights for Indoor Plants, Grow Lamp for Hydroponics, Organic Soil, Applicable to Grow Banana, Lemon etc. ( 36W, 3 Bands, FREE E26 Socket ) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HPIPM70/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SO7Dzb7CMAHJ1

Now my cheato is very light green, and grows almost completely straight. It also doubles every couple weeks. The only cheato that is dark is the cheato on the bottom that is completely shaded. If the H380 isn't growing light green and straight cheato you may have the not optimal spectrum or maybe it's the light.

 

[XNavyDiver]

Maybe it's the 380. Don't get me wrong, I run an AP700 on my display. I'm happy with kessils. I tried an H80 and it wasn't able to grow cheato for me. Under the H80 my cheato was dark green and had tight curls, indicative of not receiving enough light. I switched to one and then two of these:

TaoTronics LED Grow Light Bulb, Grow Lights for Indoor Plants, Grow Lamp for Hydroponics, Organic Soil, Applicable to Grow Banana, Lemon etc. ( 36W, 3 Bands, FREE E26 Socket ) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01HPIPM70/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_SO7Dzb7CMAHJ1

Now my cheato is very light green, and grows almost completely straight. It also doubles every couple weeks. The only cheato that is dark is the cheato on the bottom that is completely shaded. If the H380 isn't growing light green and straight cheato you may have the not optimal spectrum or maybe it's the light.

I took my que on the kessil 380 from the brs investigates test series. Kessil hands down was the best grow lamp. But this is a mute point anyways as my fuge is growing cheato. My pH remains a bit low. But as of now I'm not going to worry about it. I'm gonna give this a bit more time before I go the scrubber route.

 

[Fritzhamer]

I took my que on the kessil 380 from the brs investigates test series. Kessil hands down was the best grow lamp. But this is a mute point anyways as my fuge is growing cheato. My pH remains a bit low. But as of now I'm not going to worry about it. I'm gonna give this a bit more time before I go the scrubber route.

I hear ya, the BRS video was what made me add a fuge. I wasn't ready to pull the trigger on an H380 but figured the H80 might be ok. As I mentioned it didn't work for me. I thought the H380 would perform better than the H80 but I was skeptical at that price point that it would be THAT much better. I've never ran the H380 so I don't know how explosive the growth is. The H80, in my tank, literally couldn't grow cheato.

If the H380 is growing light green and straight cheato then it's growing as fast as it can and you're right to look elsewhere. If it is "growing" it in dark green tight curls, while growing, I'd expect the amount of impact it has on your system to be minimal. I think the BRS video showed that the more light the better. The H380 is the top BRS sells but it might not be the best grow light out there, for the money or otherwise.

A bunch of people on here recommended this light for combatting CO2 and getting great growth. It's not actually 300 watt but it was stilll too big for my small fuge area.

Galaxyhydro LED Grow Light,300W Indoor Plant Grow Lights Full Spectrum with UV&IR for Veg and Flower https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00PH1MQV8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_6b9DzbNHEE68V

 

[Scott.h]

I've spent quite a bit of time doing my own testing on this topic. Having a few systems in a few environments has given me the opportunity to mix and match equipment, etc. It's more then a simple answer. The short of it - it can work.

The variables are as follow. If your house is smaller, air tight, or there are multiple people in the house, no skimmer method will out compete the surrounding air. A skimmer with a big enough air line will work the best IF the distance from skimmer body to outside isn't excessive. If you can't get to an outside wall in a fairly close distance, or your ph is excessively low would be the only time I'd recommend a co2 scrubber. It's costly and another hassle to have to deal with. And it won't work any better then outside air given the above circumstances.

The other thing that comes into play is tank size. If you have a large volume of water, one skimmer will barely make a dent given the above criteria. (Such as a smaller air tight house with a few people). If you have a bigger air volume skimmer and a smaller volume tank you'll see a bigger difference. The only exception to this may be running a second skimmer. That I haven't tried - yet.

Lastly I have not found the biggest air volume rated skimmer to have any more of a positive effect then a normal air volume rated skimmer ran on the same system. None.

If even tried doing all of my alk dosing during the lowest ph 4 hours of the day to stabilize the night swing to a minimal. When my alk consumption increased, it started to irritate some of the coral tips, and I went back to hourly dosing.

The bottom line - get your skimmer plumbed to the outside with a big enough line to compensate the length , leave a window near the tank open whenever possible, and forget about it.

 

[XNavyDiver]

I've spent quite a bit of time doing my own testing on this topic. Having a few systems in a few environments has given me the opportunity to mix and match equipment, etc. It's more then a simple answer. The short of it - it can work.

The variables are as follow. If your house is smaller, air tight, or there are multiple people in the house, no skimmer method will out compete the surrounding air. A skimmer with a big enough air line will work the best IF the distance from skimmer body to outside isn't excessive. If you can't get to an outside wall in a fairly close distance, or your ph is excessively low would be the only time I'd recommend a co2 scrubber. It's costly and another hassle to have to deal with. And it won't work any better then outside air given the above circumstances.

The other thing that comes into play is tank size. If you have a large volume of water, one skimmer will barely make a dent given the above criteria. (Such as a smaller air tight house with a few people). If you have a bigger air volume skimmer and a smaller volume tank you'll see a bigger difference. The only exception to this may be running a second skimmer. That I haven't tried - yet.

Lastly I have not found the biggest air volume rated skimmer to have any more of a positive effect then a normal air volume rated skimmer ran on the same system. None.

If even tried doing all of my alk dosing during the lowest ph 4 hours of the day to stabilize the night swing to a minimal. When my alk consumption increased, it started to irritate some of the coral tips, and I went back to hourly dosing.

The bottom line - get your skimmer plumbed to the outside with a big enough line to compensate the length , leave a window near the tank open whenever possible, and forget about it.

Good info, thank you.

 

[ca1ore]

The problem with all of these approaches is that for a properly circulated tank, the skimmer just doesn't contribute meaningfully to gas exchange; so while fresh air, scrubber, etc. may make a small difference it is unlikely to overcome the natural gas exchange that occurs at all water/air interfaces. I run a basement fish room and have found it far more effective to run a blower that exchanges the room air.

 

[Velcro]

The problem with all of these approaches is that for a properly circulated tank, the skimmer just doesn't contribute meaningfully to gas exchange; so while fresh air, scrubber, etc. may make a small difference it is unlikely to overcome the natural gas exchange that occurs at all water/air interfaces. I run a basement fish room and have found it far more effective to run a blower that exchanges the room air.

Maybe your skimmer doesn't, but I have a jebao 9000 running on a lifereef lol. I see an EASY +0.2 with my pH running CO2 scrubber. Combined with fuge lit at night and kalk in ATO I'm able to keep my pH above 8 instead of the 7.7 or even less that it was before.

 

[XNavyDiver]

The problem with all of these approaches is that for a properly circulated tank, the skimmer just doesn't contribute meaningfully to gas exchange; so while fresh air, scrubber, etc. may make a small difference it is unlikely to overcome the natural gas exchange that occurs at all water/air interfaces. I run a basement fish room and have found it far more effective to run a blower that exchanges the room air.

I did an experiment yesterday and kept the front door open to see if it had any effect. Don't know if it did. The tank is in the middle of the living room, like a peninsula display. The house is just one level.

If I could keep a door and window open during the day I would. But it's southern Arizona, the inside temp would head north of 90 in an hour or two.

 

[Velcro]

I did an experiment yesterday and kept the front door open to see if it had any effect. Don't know if it did. The tank is in the middle of the living room, like a peninsula display. The house is just one level.

If I could keep a door and window open during the day I would. But it's southern Arizona, the inside temp would head north of 90 in an hour or two.

From my experience it takes about 18-24 hours to see the effect of increasing fresh air.

 

[Fritzhamer]

I'd try adding a grow light to your h380 and see if it helps. I think you'll see a jump in ph and you won't have to leave the door open.

 

[sfin52]

In a refugium do the lights stay on all the time or run on a type of cycle?

 

[Fritzhamer]

In a refugium do the lights stay on all the time or run on a type of cycle?

Plants need a dark cycle. Typically really small plants can have 24-7 light but larger plants need a dark cycle. Plants will uptake oxygen and burn up some of the sugar they've made during the daylight hours during that dark phase. Cheato might be simple enough an organism to go 24-7 but in general, almost all plants need a dark cycle.

I run my fuge light opposite my display lights.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

Thus my inquiry. I don't test my pH either, but the apex does and it stares me in the face every time on Fusion...mocking me.

If you're tank is happy, just hide the pH box....I sometimes do this when I help set up an Apex with the ORP box...

Also, have you compared your probe with a test kit (ala Red Sea, Hanna etc)? The pH probe is by far the first one for the calibration to drift...

 

[XNavyDiver]

If you're tank is happy, just hide the pH box....I sometimes do this when I help set up an Apex with the ORP box...

Also, have you compared your probe with a test kit (ala Red Sea, Hanna etc)? The pH probe is by far the first one for the calibration to drift...

I was considering doing that exact thing. If I don't see, it ain't a problem. I wanted to see if the pH probe drifted off calibration also, so I tested with my salifert kit last night. 8.0, my probe show 7.98.

 

[Js.Aqua.Project]

They definitely drift, with a few systems I help maintain I find that I have to swing in and recalibrate as early as 6 months sometimes, but usually it is at 9 months - 1 year.

 

[XNavyDiver]

In a refugium do the lights stay on all the time or run on a type of cycle?

My refugium light has an exact opposite schedule than my DT lights.