Co2 Absoption media??

[mazoli]

I got some sodalime , put 500ml in a reactor in front of my skimmer air intake. The pH instantly got raised from 7.80-8.1 to 8.15-8.50 (early morning – late night values). The bad news is that it only lasted 2 days, the third day I measured lower values (8.05-8.30) and the fourth day it was totally exhausted. Doing some math, the 5L media would last about 3 (max 4) week in my case. I have 700-800 l/h air intake for my skimmer. However it is a very efficient way to raise pH, in my opinion it is not a sustainable solution in the long run (especially for larger tanks where air intake is even higher).

 

[jason2459]

I got some sodalime , put 500ml in a reactor in front of my skimmer air intake. The pH instantly got raised from 7.80-8.1 to 8.15-8.50 (early morning – late night values). The bad news is that it only lasted 2 days, the third day I measured lower values (8.05-8.30) and the fourth day it was totally exhausted. Doing some math, the 5L media would last about 3 (max 4) week in my case. I have 700-800 l/h air intake for my skimmer. However it is a very efficient way to raise pH, in my opinion it is not a sustainable solution in the long run (especially for larger tanks where air intake is even higher).

T it off and restrict the amount of air going through the soda lime. Links below on how I have mine setup. My Aquamaxx I used to have setup drew in slightly more air then that. My soda lime 5gallon jug has lasted quite some time.

Here's a thread with a lot of examples on setting up your own CO2 Scrubber. I posted a link to mine in that thread too

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/a...with-a-co2-scrubber.57609/page-8#post-3102941

direct link to my setup with my skimmer and ozone
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/mtc-mvx-skimmer-review.252436/page-4#post-3101922

 

[chema]

My experience is similar to the one exposed by mazoli. The sodalime effect only lasts for a couple of days. My skimmer is a BK 200 mini which draws around 1500 l/h of air. I'm afraid that a high concentration of CO2 in the room caused by poor ventilation (not a feasible solution in winter) and several people staying there, strongly counteracts the action of the scrubber.

 

[mazoli]

My scrubber works like a dream. Was at 7.6-8. Now after 8.1-8.4!! Using lye.

Could you please describe how you are doing it? How much NaOH are you dilluting in water? How did you build your reactor and how long does it last until depleted? Thanks

 

[hawkinsrgk]

Following. Looking forward to getting more details form rock_lobster.

 

[Brew12]

I added a CO2 scrubber to my system and the results were underwhelming. I saw only a small increase in pH. However, I think I understand the cause. My system is a 120g with dual durso overflows. I believe I get so much air exchange from my durso drains that it mutes the impact of the skimmer. My room CO2 will still be dominant when it comes to my pH.

 

[chema]

If we work on the hypothesis that air exchange in other areas of the tank counteracts the effect of the CO2 scrubber connected to the skimmer...it would be worthwhile to test whether a reduction of that air exchange, for example reducing water movement on the surface of the tank, has a significant positive impact in pH.

 

[Brew12]

If we work on the hypothesis that air exchange in other areas of the tank counteracts the effect of the CO2 scrubber connected to the skimmer...it would be worthwhile to test whether a reduction of that air exchange, for example reducing water movement on the surface of the tank, has a significant positive impact in pH.

I think the amount of surface air exchange is pretty minor compared to a skimmer. I also don't think it would have a large impact on people running full siphon drains to their sump. I only see this being an issue that run drains that pull air down through them.