Downside for co2 scrubber?

[Steve2020]

My ph is a bit lower than usual today. Im at 8.22 from 8.28 is that means my media is getting depleted. The color changing is only at the bottom part. Maybe because i spent a lot of time in tje basement today, doing water testing i dont know.

You have plenty of media left in the scrubber looking at the color change going on. The ph can fluctuate on a daily if not hourly basis due to the increase or decrease amount of CO2 entering the tank water. Spending more time in your basement more than normal could be the cause. My tank is in the lower level of my house along with my wife's craft room, and when she spends a large amount of time down there the upper limit of my desired ph either does not quite make it or takes longer to reach it. Same goes when my dogs decide to spend time in the lower level.

 

[spsick]

Electronic Solenoid Valve. Fresh Airline from Fresh Air Return 60ft away.

Mind sharing where you sourced the valve from?

 

[Steve2020]

Mind sharing where you sourced the valve from?

What's nice about this ball valve is it already has a 120vac plug wired in. Plug it into an outlet on you power strip and program the outlet for your desired power on/off. Unlike most solenoid valves, the electronic ball valve has internal limit switches for open and closed. When power is applied the valve will open and when the limit switch is triggered the valve motor stops and there is no more power draw from the outlet even though the outlet is on. When power goes off it utilizes an internal spring return.

 

[spsick]

What's nice about this ball valve is it already has a 120vac plug wired in. Plug it into an outlet on you power strip and program the outlet for your desired power on/off. Unlike most solenoid valves, the electronic ball valve has internal limit switches for open and closed. When power is applied the valve will open and when the limit switch is triggered the valve motor stops and there is no more power draw from the outlet even though the outlet is on. When power goes off it utilizes an internal spring return.

Oh cool thank you! Are they normally closed or normally open until power is applied? Description doesn’t specify how it works.

 

[Steve2020]

Oh cool thank you! Are they normally closed or normally open until power is applied? Description doesn’t specify how it works.

It is a normally closed valve which means when power is applied it will open. That is what the NC means in case you did not know.

 

[spsick]

It is a normally closed valve which means when power is applied it will open. That is what the NC means in case you did not know.

Oh cool thanks yeah I do but looked over the description several times and didn’t see it in the name haha

 

[Notsolostfish]

S

It is a normally closed valve which means when power is applied it will open. That is what the NC means in case you did not know.

Steve. By mistake today i overflowed my skimmer. With my scrubber connected on non recirculating way. Would that affect me? I know they say if you’re on recirculating way. And u overflow u are screwed

 

[Steve2020]

S

Steve. By mistake today i overflowed my skimmer. With my scrubber connected on non recirculating way. Would that affect me? I know they say if you’re on recirculating way. And u overflow u are screwed

Since no fluid can enter the scrubber from a skimmer overflow in a non recirc, the effects would be that of a typical skimmer overflow. If you had a lot of waist in the skimmer cup you may see an increase in your NO3 and PO4.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Since no fluid can enter the scrubber from a skimmer overflow in a non recirc, the effects would be that of a typical skimmer overflow. If you had a lot of waist in the skimmer cup you may see an increase in your NO3 and PO4.

Do i change the media now or we still good? Noticed ph dropped to 8.2 tonight. I usually stop, at 8.25 at night and 8.28-8.3 day time.

 

[Steve2020]

Do i change the media now or we still good? Noticed ph dropped to 8.2 tonight. I usually stop, at 8.25 at night and 8.28-8.3 day time.

Looking at the photo I would replace the media. It has changed color at the top of the scrubber even though I see a few dead spots at the bottom and near the middle where the media did not change color. What brand of media are you using?

 

[Notsolostfish]

Looking at the photo I would replace the media. It has changed color at the top of the scrubber even though I see a few dead spots at the bottom and near the middle where the media did not change color. What brand of media are you using?

Two little fishies. Bucket. Even though the color didnt change at the top? I still change it?

 

[Steve2020]

Two little fishies. Bucket. Even though the color didnt change at the top? I still change it?

The area I put a box around looks blue in the photo compared to the white media in the middle. Is it actually blue or is it just a reflection causing it to look a light blue. If it is actually white then I would not change it yet.

 

[Notsolostfish]

The area I put a box around looks blue in the photo compared to the white media in the middle. Is it actually blue or is it just a reflection causing it to look a light blue. If it is actually white then I would not change it yet.

I dont know if thats a better picture. But no the top is white still. The bottkm is all purple color. But my ph is like dropped to 8.0 at night from 8.25 not major.

 

[Steve2020]

I dont know if thats a better picture. But no the top is white still. The bottkm is all purple color. But my ph is like dropped to 8.0 at night from 8.25 not major.

Being it is still white I would continue using it. Not sure if I asked you this before but do you have a controller? If so could you do a screen shot over a week period? Would be interesting to see your trends. IMO a .25 difference from the night before is a major difference. How are you measuring ph? Any change in alkalinity? Did you change anything that increased you surface agitation? Any other changes? Are you still at 8.28-8.3 during the day? A .25 change from day to night is not uncommon but .25 change from night to night would have me looking for something that has changed.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Being it is still white I would continue using it. Not sure if I asked you this before but do you have a controller? If so could you do a screen shot over a week period? Would be interesting to see your trends. IMO a .25 difference from the night before is a major difference. How are you measuring ph? Any change in alkalinity? Did you change anything that increased you surface agitation? Any other changes? Are you still at 8.28-8.3 during the day? A .25 change from day to night is not uncommon but .25 change from night to night would have me looking for something that has changed.

I apologize meant 8.25-8.28-8.3 to 8.2 tonight im at 8.19 right now. Before when the media was good i wa at like 8.25 stable at night now im at 8.19 and i use apex probe calibrated. Less than 3 months old. Confirmed by hanna pen. It does seem like the media is at the end of its life

 

[Steve2020]

I apologize meant 8.25-8.28-8.3 to 8.2 tonight im at 8.19 right now. Before when the media was good i wa at like 8.25 stable at night now im at 8.19 and i use apex probe calibrated. Less than 3 months old. Confirmed by hanna pen. It does seem like the media is at the end of its life

Ah! 8.19-8.2 is much better. The difference from 8.25 at night to 8.19 another night I would not worry to much about. If you feel you need to change the media then I would go for it but IMO you would be wasting media since you are saying only half has changed color. Since you have an apex I still would like to see a screenshot of your ph chart showing a weeks worth of data.

 

[Notsolostfish]

Ah! 8.19-8.2 is much better. The difference from 8.25 at night to 8.19 another night I would not worry to much about. If you feel you need to change the media then I would go for it but IMO you would be wasting media since you are saying only half has changed color. Since you have an apex I still would like to see a screenshot of your ph chart showing a weeks worth of data.

Heres 2 pictures for u week data for ph, and idk if thats better pic for the media. It says it changes to pink. Mine is purple so not sure

 

[Notsolostfish]

Ah! 8.19-8.2 is much better. The difference from 8.25 at night to 8.19 another night I would not worry to much about. If you feel you need to change the media then I would go for it but IMO you would be wasting media since you are saying only half has changed color. Since you have an apex I still would like to see a screenshot of your ph chart showing a weeks worth of data.

Oh yeah that media is gone. I just dropped to 8.18. And i probably would still drop till it stabilizes somewhere. Ill change the media tomorrow. But inwas wondering why it changed to purple and not pink like they said

 

[Steve2020]

Heres 2 pictures for u week data for ph, and idk if thats better pic for the media. It says it changes to pink. Mine is purple so not sure

All looks fine to me. As far as as not turning pink and turning blue I would contact Two Little Fishies about that. Mine turns magenta/purple color and I believe most other brands do also. I also get some fluctuations in my upper and lower ph but not enough to worry about. I run a lot of surface agitation and my home is very tightly sealed so I am sure my CO2 levels are a little high in the house. Both the wife and I are retired so we are home a lot more than when we were working and also have two dogs.

The little downward spikes are when I go into feed mode at approx 8:15am and 2:15pm and when I dose phyto at around 8pm

Very good media and cheaper when you purchase this bulk size. Many reefers are using this brand. Only media I have ever used.

 

[jackson6745]

I made my scrubber recirculating and I had a lot of moisture filling the media RO container. I made a catch can as a temporary solution. I’m thinking to get a larger co2 scrubber and use this small RO reactor as a water catch can?

Is there a better way to do this that I’m missing?