BRS Jumbo CO2 Scrubber

[ScottF]

Hello reefers! I decided to try to add some recirculation to my CO2 scrubber. I am using a BRS Jumbo dual canister scrubber. Today I put a 1" NPT to 1/2" NPT bushing into the 1" NPT input on the scrubber. I then put a 1/2" NPT to 1/2" hose barb in the bushing.

When I cover the hole in the barb with my finger, it does not stop the air going into the skimmer. If I close the valve at the output of the scrubber it does stop the air going into the skimmer. So somewhere in the scrubber air is leaking pretty significantly.

I have tightened down all of the copper ports on the top and tightened the blue plastic vent caps, but I have yet to figure out where it is leaking.

Does anyone have experience with this CO2 scrubber that may have some insight? Does it leak around the canisters? Am I missing a port somewhere?

 

[ScottF]

I have verified that both canisters have blue o-rings at the top.

 

[ScottF]

Public service announcement: Use the o-ring lube that comes with your scrubber if you don't want it to leak air around the canisters.

I lubed up the o-rings and all is good now.

 

[jackson6745]

You answered your own question!!! LOL. This hobby is the best! :)

 

[ScottF]

Public service announcement: Use the o-ring lube that comes with your scrubber if you don't want it to leak air around the canisters.

I lubed up the o-rings and all is good now.

Also make sure to tighten all of the plugs and caps. A couple of the copper plugs were loose on mine. Don't assume that it comes from the factory ready to use.

 

[ScottF]

You answered your own question!!! LOL. This hobby is the best! :)

This seems to happen a lot. Some times it helps to just talk through things as you work through the problem. It also doesn't hurt to let others see you working through the problem even if you solve it yourself. It may be helpful for someone else too.

 

[Harpo]

Can you please post a photo of your set up? Thanks

 

[ScottF]

Can you please post a photo of your set up? Thanks

I would need a few photos. I call the jug on the right R.D.A.D.. Something I came up with because I was afraid of recirculating water through the CO2 scrubber and back into my tank.

The Recirculation Disaster Avoidance Doohickey is a jug with a hose going out of the side that is hooked up to a barb that I installed on the lid of my skimmer. The hose going out the top is hooked up to the intake of the CO2 scrubber. There is an optical sensor in the side of the jug just under the hose that is hooked up to a FMM module on my Apex.

The idea is that if the skimmer starts overflowing and it starts sucking water into the hose, the water will collect in the jug until it reaches the optical sensor and the APEX will shut off the skimmer.

The output of the CO2 scrubber is hooked up to a input on an electric ball valve that is controlled by my Apex. The other input on the ball valve is going to my ozone generator and then to an air dryer. The output of the ball valve is going to the air intake on my skimmer.

So when the outlet that the ball valve is plugged into is turned on by my Apex, it opens the intake that is going trough the scrubber. When the outlet is turned off, it opens the intake that is going through my ozone generator.
Usually the O3 generator is turned off. I usually only run it an hour per night while I'm sleeping except for when I was fighting a dino outbreak in my tank. Then I was running it pretty much 24/7. If my pH gets above 8.3, the Apex will turn off the scrubber and suck air through the powered off O3 generator.

One thing to note about my setup is that the hoses connected to the RDAD are connected by a kynar union barb that I cut in half and pushed through holes that I drilled. The idea is that it isn't completely sealed. In practice, it seems like most of the air coming through it is coming from the skimmer, but it is able to suck in a little fresh air as well.

 

[ScottF]

The red and clear plastic thing coming off of the ball valve is the muffler from my skimmer. I'm using it to step down from the 3/8" barb on the ball valve to the 1/4" tubing for the ozone generator. That muffler has three inputs. One is plugged, one is going to the ozone generator and one is going to a small rodi ball valve,

My skimmer would stall when I tried just pulling air from the 1/4" tube on the O3 generator. It didn't seem like it was pulling enough air through the O3 generator when I left one of the intakes completely open. The small rodi ball valve lets me regulate how much air to pull through the O3 generator.

So in all I have it like this. 1/2" tubing from skimmer lid to RDAD. 1/2" tubing from RDAD to CO2 scrubber. 3/8" tubing from CO2 scrubber to electric ball valve. 3/8" tubing from electric ball valve to skimmer intake.

1/4" tubing from air dryer to ozone generator. 1/4" tubing from ozone generator to muffler that I pillaged from my skimmer. 3/8" tubing from muffler to electric ball valve.

The muffler also has 1/4" tubing from another port with a little rodi tubing shoved inside of the 1/4" tubing and the rodi tubing is connected to a rodi ball valve.

 

[ScottF]

My messy sump area. You can see the 1/2" tube coming from the lid that is going to the RDAD and the big ol bag of carbon sitting on the lid. You can also see the smaller 3/8" tubing coming from the electric ball valve to the skimmer intake.

The O3 generator is mounted on the back of the stand. The round air dryer below it and the RDAD beside that. You can see the moisture inside of the tube coming from the skimmer to the RDAD.

I need to figure out a good way to clean up all of this excess tubing. I left it a little long so I can pull everything out to change media, but it is a bit messy.

 

[Harpo]

thanks for all the photos and explanation