One Week with CO2 Scrubber

[dcal1985]

I've had a BRS CO2 scrubber setup for one week now and I thought I would share my experience with it. For some background, the tank is a WB 105.4 Frag and has been running for about two months. I spend considerable time in the room with the tank and noticed PH dropping throughout the day due to my presence. The scrubber has been effective in bringing PH up, but does require some maintenance for performance and might not be right for everyone. Since I'm literally in the same room for 10ish hours a day, it's a pretty ideal solution for me.

Prior to scrubber: PH would routinely drop close to 7.8 with an average around 7.9.

After initial setup: PH averages 8.1

Dips with causes and remedies:

1. Instructions suggest adding a small amount of water to the reactor. It had evaporated and when I replaced it, the PH rose again.
2. Again, evaporation. I also noticed the media was slightly turning purple to indicate it was close to spent. I added replacement water and stirred the media to expose surface area that maybe hadn't been utilized.
3. Media was decently purple so I replaced it. I could possibly have stirred it one more time but I didn't want to mess with it.

Cost: The initial scrubber with basic installation on my skimmer was $38. I am using the BRS media at a rate of 1 lb./$6 per week. Not the cheapest solution but I'm happy with the results so far and it hasn't involved adjusting any other water parameters, which I'm happy with.

I hope that helps if anyone is considering adding something similar!

-Deane

 

[PeterC99]

Great job!

Can you open your windows? Find that I can get additional .1 pH when I open my windows with my CO2 scrubber.

 

[dcal1985]

Great job!

Can you open your windows? Find that I can get additional .1 pH when I open my windows with my CO2 scrubber.

Yes, I can when it's nice out but I live in Vermont and it snowed a little last week.

I might consider running the line directly outside through my wall for a longer term (and cheaper) solution.

 

[Jonnykat]

Thank you your post was helpful, I've been considering purchasing that scrubber.
I've heard that it would help with my low ph but did not realize it could cost as much as 6 bucks a month. I believe I will try running a tube out the wall first and see if it helps before I buy one.

 

[dcal1985]

Thank you your post was helpful, I've been considering purchasing that scrubber.
I've heard that it would help with my low ph but did not realize it could cost as much as 6 bucks a month. I believe I will try running a tube out the wall first and see if it helps before I buy one.

I’m glad you found it helpful. That rate of media consumption has been pretty consistent over the past month. I basically change it every week.

 

[WoodsieFL]

Any plans on running a recirculating system with the skimmer? I see all over the place about how people are getting 2x - 3x life out of their media. A simple hole in your skimmer cap in the right spot can save big money in media apparently.

 

[dcal1985]

Any plans on running a recirculating system with the skimmer? I see all over the place about how people are getting 2x - 3x life out of their media. A simple hole in your skimmer cap in the right spot can save big money in media apparently.

I’ve considered it but haven’t wanted to deal with potential clogs and backups. I’m honestly not that concerned about the expense right now and since adding Kalkwasser, my PH is pretty stable. Might be able to move away from the scrubber eventually.

 

[fdevans]

I’ve had similar positive experiences with my recent purchase of a CO2 scrubber. Helped get my ph into a more desirable range and I finally saw a frogspawn that receded months ago start to open up.

Instead of drilling a hole in the skimmer I got one of the recirculating inserts from Fish of Hex. My initial batch of media isn’t the color changing type and is probably mostly used now, but looking forward to seeing how long the BRS batch lasts with the recirculation. I did add a DIY moisture trap today as the line off the insert was getting enough water in it that if left too long likely would have either ended up in the scrubber and/or clogged up the airflow.