CO2 Scrubber

[Enigma79]

I recently added the BRS CO2 media scrubber. I connected the scrubber to my skimmer air in-take. Since I added the scrubber, I am noticing that my PH has increased and staying over 8.5. From my research, I see that a higher PH is a good thing. I am currently dosing 2 part BRS for All, Cal and Mg, based on what I have read I see that the calcium reactor will only kick in when ph is if around 6.5. Based on the recent spike and increase in ph and my plan to add a calcium reactor, I am confused if the ph will come done enough for the calcium reactor to kick in. Some insight will be very useful. Thank you.

 

[AlexandraDreadlocksPanda]

you are confusing system pH with internal calcium reactor pH. If you are pH controlling the Ca reactor, when pH rise above a certain level (say 6.7pH), the solenoid will open the CO2 valve, which acidifies water inside the reactor, dissolves media and increases pH. When this decreases to something like 6.3pH, the controller will switch off CO2 supply. The knock on effect of this will be that no matter how good your Ca reactor is, with secondary degassing chambers etc, it will have a negative effect on tank pH due to excess CO2… which is where your CO2 scrubber comes in. I would strongly advise going for a recirculating design through the skimmer to reduce media consumption.
FWIW unless you have an ENORMOUS Ca & Alk demand in a huge tank, I’d stick to 2 part. It’s far easier to manage and keep stable than a Ca reactor with pH controller. In 20 years of reefing I’ve done both, including having Alkatronic & Dosetronic running feed to Ca reactor. I now use DIY Randy’s 2 part, mixing 20L of Alk & Ca at a time, dump a 1L bottle of Tropic Marin Elements A- & K+ into each container respectively, and that lasts a few months. Simple and effective…