Does Wet or Dry skimming help Co2 scrubber run better? (Plus general tips)

[Cantusaurus]

I recently got a BRS CO2 scrubber. I have a Aquatic Life Mini Skimmer for my 32 gallon tank AIO.
The skimmer works pretty well for me. I set it up, but I'm not 100% sure my pH has improved a lot when testing.
I'm going to clean the skimmer pump with citric acid to make sure it is running its best. I'm also going to try and make the tubing shorter so the air travel lessens.
But. Does running the skimmer more wet or dry affect how much air is being pulled in? I assume wet skimming is better?
Or if anyone has any tips in general let me know.
I'm not crazy about a recirculating skimmer due to the skimmer tending to release a bit of skimmate out of the air gaps.

Having an all in one tank kinda sucks though because I want to have the scrubber closer to the skimmer and not under the cabinet, but hopefully I can figure it out.

 

[Xxflounderxx]

I recently got a BRS CO2 scrubber. I have a Aquatic Life Mini Skimmer for my 32 gallon tank AIO.
The skimmer works pretty well for me. I set it up, but I'm not 100% sure my pH has improved a lot when testing.
I'm going to clean the skimmer pump with citric acid to make sure it is running its best. I'm also going to try and make the tubing shorter so the air travel lessens.
But. Does running the skimmer more wet or dry affect how much air is being pulled in? I assume wet skimming is better?
Or if anyone has any tips in general let me know.
I'm not crazy about a recirculating skimmer due to the skimmer tending to release a bit of skimmate out of the air gaps.

Having an all in one tank kinda sucks though because I want to have the scrubber closer to the skimmer and not under the cabinet, but hopefully I can figure it out.

In my opinion running a fresh airline to the skimmer from directly outside or attic. Second option is a scrubber. Wet or dry won't matter in removal of co2 due to its the same gas exchange either way. I prefer wet skimming seams to remove more organics. You can also upsize the tubing to the skimmer from the scrubber to reduce drag

 

[Cantusaurus]

In my opinion running a fresh airline to the skimmer from directly outside or attic. Second option is a scrubber. Wet or dry won't matter in removal of co2 due to its the same gas exchange either way. I prefer wet skimming seams to remove more organics. You can also upsize the tubing to the skimmer from the scrubber to reduce drag

I would want to run tubing to outside, but I really just do not feel comfortable with drilling through the wall, and additionally the possible chemicals and stuff from neighbors or just in general.

 

[Cjeippert]

I have the rsk900 skimmer, I run it pretty open and keep a higher wet skim. The more air it pulls through the better. It allows me to keep my ph between 8.18 and 8.32. But I also monitor my air co2 and keep windows open to keep ambient air co2 at around 380 to 500. Kalk dose at night to cover 90% of daily evaporatio keeps ph at around 8.2 ish so the climb to 8.3 is quicker once lights turn on. Plants, chaeto at night and tube running outside do not make much difference for me. But I love the co2 scrubber! Media is best moist but not wet. Takes a couple of days to ramp up as well when you first start out

 

[Cjeippert]

the amazon vet med media is consistently better at raising ph and lasting a little longer. The brs and ice cap both started to not as well for me. But it could have been a number of other factors

 

[GarrettT]

Be mindful of the scrubbers placement. You don't want it to back siphon. I have the bottom of mine connected to a container with a float switch.

 

[Cjeippert]

I actually have to keep a solenoid to bypass co2 once it hots 8.31 or else it get close to 8.40 which increases precipitation more than I want to clean my return pump

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

I actually have to keep a solenoid to bypass co2 once it hots 8.31 or else it get close to 8.40 which increases precipitation more than I want to clean my return pump

That sounds like a good plan because it saves media too.

 

[defasum]

I just bought and installed a BRS co2 scrubber 3 days ago and immediately saw a large jump on my PH. I did clean the skimmer really well with citric acid. the scrubber is about 3 ft from the skimmer. I'm really happy with the result, now lets see how long the media lasts.

my PH jumped from 8.0 to 8.4!

 

[Cjeippert]

When you keep ph consistently at 8.25 to 8.35 it is mind boggling how fast your acros and other sps can grow. It was worth all the experimenting to get it right. Becareful when you first get your ph up, your alk and calcium consumption will directly be impacted. And your risk of your return pump freezing up increases….so with higher ph comes more maintenance…at least that is my experience.

 

[Cjeippert]

That sounds like a good plan because it saves media too.

Yeah my media lasts about 2 1/2 weeks. Could never get the recirculating thing to work for me, but honestly in a closed cabinet, the air is very moist and air coming out of skimmer lid holes gets drawn back in the CO2 scrubber so… it sort of is recirculating. I do fill water in bottom portion of scrubber that does mot touch media as well to help kick start it

 

[arking_mark]

Your skimmer aeration with a CO2 scrubber needs to outcompete what's contributing to higher CO2 in your tank (most likely your aeration from powerheads and return pumps). In my tank, I had to oversize the skimmer to get the pH boost I was looking for.

Lessons learned in trying to maintain pH stability

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[Cantusaurus]

When you keep ph consistently at 8.25 to 8.35 it is mind boggling how fast your acros and other sps can grow. It was worth all the experimenting to get it right. Becareful when you first get your ph up, your alk and calcium consumption will directly be impacted. And your risk of your return pump freezing up increases….so with higher ph comes more maintenance…at least that is my experience.

I cleaned my return pump pretty recently, and I put a tiny submersible pump running under my doser is in order for there to be even more movement so my All for Reef does not precipitate too much. I hope I can see a higher Alk consumption and see my corals grow faster
But yeah I get it that I may have to be more conscious with things when growth is that much faster

 

[Cantusaurus]

Yeah my media lasts about 2 1/2 weeks. Could never get the recirculating thing to work for me, but honestly in a closed cabinet, the air is very moist and air coming out of skimmer lid holes gets drawn back in the CO2 scrubber so… it sort of is recirculating. I do fill water in bottom portion of scrubber that does mot touch media as well to help kick start it

That is a good idea! I most likely will do that, and just have a little bit of thin airline running to pretty close to the CO2 reactor which can't hurt and could maybe increase efficiency at least slightly.

 

[Cjeippert]

I cleaned my return pump pretty recently, and I put a tiny submersible pump running under my doser is in order for there to be even more movement so my All for Reef does not precipitate too much. I hope I can see a higher Alk consumption and see my corals grow faster
But yeah I get it that I may have to be more conscious with things when growth is that much faster

Had to do the same to get precipitation off and out of pump. Still need to clean return pump every month or 2.

 

[JonEB]

my 2 cents I recirculate 50% of the air out of my skimmer and had to put a water esperarle ahead of the reactor to prevent to much moisture from getting into the media. My take as I’ve run it now for a cpl months is that a small amount of moisture is good. To much is moisture is anticlimactic.

Perfect PH!

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