CO2 Scrubber Opinions

[Cscultho]

Are CO2 scrubbers worth the investment?

I have a 32g biocube mixed reef. My pH hovers between 7.5-7.7 on average.

What are your personal experiences and recommendations for a small mixed reef. Thanks

 

[BAMatter]

I’d first make sure your PH is actually that low, CO2 scrubber media is expensive. It did seem to keep my PH elevated though. Have you considered getting something like an InTank refugium insert and seeing if you can find a way to naturally bring PH up? Also, what are you dosing? Kalk is a great way to add alk/cal plus boost PH.

 

[Reef Psychology]

Are CO2 scrubbers worth the investment?

I have a 32g biocube mixed reef. My pH hovers between 7.5-7.7 on average.

What are your personal experiences and recommendations for a small mixed reef. Thanks

With a tank that small a “nano” skimmer may not have the intake volume/pressure to fully take advantage of the media. I have tried it with a Tunze 9001 with limited success. Managed only .1 at best. The upside was the media lasted for nearly a month when kept damp (sponge at bottom). With my larger 75g the skimmer ate through the media in two and a half weeks but raised pH by ~0.3. I’ve heard other people say that it worked fine with their nano skimmers so your mileage may vary depending on brand.

 

[Cscultho]

I’d first make sure your PH is actually that low, CO2 scrubber media is expensive. It did seem to keep my PH elevated though. Have you considered getting something like an InTank refugium insert and seeing if you can find a way to naturally bring PH up? Also, what are you dosing? Kalk is a great way to add alk/cal plus boost PH.

I have considered an in-tank fuge but I cannot seem to find one that is of good quality and gets good reviews.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

I too suspect the pH is not as low as you think. I'd suggest recalibrating the pH meter with new fluids before taking complicated actions.

pH and the Reef Aquarium - REEFEDITION

by Randy Holmes-Farley For many aquarists, pH is not something that they have much experience with aside from their aquarium. For many, pH is almost a black box measurement: something to be considered, but whose physical meaning makes little sense to them. This article will Read more here...

www.reefedition.com

The Aeration Test

Some of the possible causes of low pH listed above require an effort to diagnose. Problems 3 and 4 are quite common, and here is a way to distinguish them. Remove a cup of tank water and measure its pH. Then aerate it for an hour with an airstone using outside air. Its pH should rise if it is unusually low for the measured alkalinity (Figure 2). Then repeat the same experiment on a new cup of water using inside air. If its pH also rises, then the aquarium’s pH will rise simply with more aeration because it is only the aquarium that contains excess carbon dioxide. If the pH does not rise in the cup (or rises very little) when aerating with indoor air, then that air likely contains excess CO2, and more aeration with that same air will not solve the low pH problem (although aeration with fresher air should). Be careful implementing this test if the outside aeration test results in a large temperature change (more than 5°C or 10°F), because such changes alone impact pH measurements.

 

[Cscultho]

Thank you Randy, I will give this a try.

 

[Cscultho]

Thank you Randy, I will give this a try

 

[nickng]

Are CO2 scrubbers worth the investment?

I have a 32g biocube mixed reef. My pH hovers between 7.5-7.7 on average.

What are your personal experiences and recommendations for a small mixed reef. Thanks

I have great success with running a CO2 scrubber on my 32G biocube. Ph was always around 7.5 to 7.7, after adding scrubber it slowly rose to 8.3 to 8.35. I am using a recirculation scrubber, the media last for 6+ weeks

 

[nickng]

Another way is to keep a bunch chaeto in transparent breeding box in the main tank directly under the lights. It will convert the CO2 to O2 in your tank and put another bunch of Chaeto in the refugium section in filter and run it with a strong light that comes on at night (reverse lighting cycle). With enough Chaeto (ie tennis ball or larger) should bring the pH up to around 8 to 8.0X.
As long as the water has enough nitrates ~15 ppm and some phosphates, the chaeto will grow.

 

[FUNGI]

If you can, run your skimmer air "in" line to the outside of the house...that helped me out a ton......

 

[reefingreef]

I think they’re are worth it!! This is my graph from my X4. Just for reference I have a 75g with a 30g sump in my bedroom (my wife, our 2 wiener dogs and I sleep there at night)

I run a refugium everyday on opposite schedule as my display lights and run a ConeS- Q2 skimmer. Before December 11 you can see how low my ph is, after I set up the recirculating co2 scrubber my ph stays consistent at 8.0-8.1. Before the co2 scrubber my ph was around 7.4-7.5

I’m still trying to tune my skimmer which is why around January 5 and January 15 my ph is low. Skimmer overflowed and it kept overflowing for 2-3 days.

 

[JsLevine]

Very important I think. My ph goes from 8.2 to just under 8.4 with the scrubber. Where you see my ph drop to 8.07 is actually the media in the co2 scrubber being used up, and then after replacing it you can see my ph jump right back to normal.

 

[dadnjesse]

As far as this hobby goes I wouldn't say the media is expensive. You can get a 5 Gallon bucket for around $130.00. Mine will last me over a year and I change it at least every other week.

Soda Lime Granules, 5 Gal Container CO2 Absorber Sodasorb Carbon Dioxide, JorVet | eBay

Carbon dioxide absorbent granules. Upon exposure to carbon dioxide CO2, the calcium hydroxide converts to calcium carbonate Ca(CO3). This prevents CO2 buildup in a re-breathing circuit. The sodium hydroxide acts as a catalyst in the process.

www.ebay.com

 

[dadnjesse]

I use this one for my tank. One canister for the media and the other to catch the Moisture.

BRS GFO & Carbon Reactor - Dual

Easy to use, setup and maintain. Perfect for utilizing GFO and Carbon in the aquarium. No annoying thumb screws and leaky lids like other reactors. BRS recommends a Sicce Syncra 1.5 pump to operate this reactor. Sold separately or packaged with the pump. Choose a different pump depending on...

www.bulkreefsupply.com