CO2 Scrubber without a Skimmer?

[OnyxPerc]

Hello R2R!

As the thread title states - does anyone know of a way to run a CO2 scrubber without a skimmer? I dont run a skimmer on my tank, and I have a lot of trouble maintaining my Ph - I can never get it above 8.1 even when I open the windows. Usually it's around 7.8 -7.9 during the day and it drops as low as 7.5 at night after lights out.

I've never been one to chase parameters, but my tank is SPS dominant and while I've been having decent growth, I know it could be better and low Ph is probably a big factor.

I was wondering if I could plumb a CO2 scrubber into an air pump / air stone in the tank? Or maybe if there are any other ideas/ways of doing this that I'm not thinking of.

Thanks in advance!

 

[Hemmdog]

Why not just get a skimmer? They boost pH remarkably well. If nutrients are an issue just dial it way back.

 

[reefwreak]

It sounds like you already have it figured out. You might need some tubing adapters, but you could absolutely just set up an airstone driven system, and get adapters/fittings to put it in-line.

If you haven't tried it yet, you may want to just try an airstone by itself. Set it up on a timer to run an hour before lights-out, and two hours post lights-on, and it should impact your evening pH.

It's amazing to see the impact of people being in the house vs. in an empty house on pH levels when you have a controller/logger like the Apex. My pH at night stayed above 8.0 and increased to 8.2, vs. now it is usually closer to 7.8 at night and 8.1 during the day.

 

[OnyxPerc]

Why not just get a skimmer? They boost pH remarkably well. If nutrients are an issue just dial it way back.

Well I actually have a skimmer, but I dont use it for a few reasons. First, my bio-load is very small (only 2 small clowns) and as you alluded to, nutrients are a problem for me to maintain even without the skimmer. Second reason why I dont use it is because my tank is an AIO and I have limited compartments in the back for equipment. I'm currently using the skimmer chamber for a GFO reactor and the other chamber as a fuge.

 

[OnyxPerc]

It sounds like you already have it figured out. You might need some tubing adapters, but you could absolutely just set up an airstone driven system, and get adapters/fittings to put it in-line.

If you haven't tried it yet, you may want to just try an airstone by itself. Set it up on a timer to run an hour before lights-out, and two hours post lights-on, and it should impact your evening pH.

It's amazing to see the impact of people being in the house vs. in an empty house on pH levels when you have a controller/logger like the Apex. My pH at night stayed above 8.0 and increased to 8.2, vs. now it is usually closer to 7.8 at night and 8.1 during the day.

Awesome I will give it a try! I just ordered the CO2 scrubber, so I'll probably run the airstone like you suggested until it gets here.

Another questions I have that maybe one of you can help with is re: the media. I've read that you should use soda lime in a CO2 reactor, but I also saw a few people saying that they use kalk instead. Does anyone know if kalk works just as well? Any drawbacks to using kalk instead of soda lime?

 

[jpnegrete14]

Did you ever setup the CO2 scrubber with the air stone? If so how did it work?

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

if my soda lime you mean pickling lime then yes thats the same thing as kalk.
ie mrs. wages pickling lime

 

[HuduVudu]

@OnyxPerc here is something I think would work better. The bubbles might be a pain but it would give really good surface contact.

Venturi:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/203842254210?hash=item2f75f1f582:g:Q5AAAOSwiwVWSXUj