CO2 Scrubbing: An Unexpected Journey Chasing Numbers

[Ty Hamatake]

Can you explain how you set up the "humidifier" in more detail? I have a massively oversized skimmer as well did you just spilt the intake with a regular air line with house air and the scrubber or would that just cause it to by pass the co2 media?

Ah man, I'm going to make this as confusing as possible (lol I have that tendancy) because I'm not home to take pictures.

So, from the skimmer itself I ran tubing (the 3/8" stuff that comes with the BRS brand CO2 scrubber). Right after the tubing attaches to the silencer on the skimmer I put a Tee in. One end goes to the scrubber and the other has a little ball valve on it (the same that is used for 1/4" RODI tubing). The purpose of the valve is to control how much air goes through the scrubber and how much goes directly to the skimmer. The end that goes to the scrubber is connected directly to it. The intake of the scrubber is where I connected the "humidifier".

So yes, you were right on both counts. It is just split off of the skimmer intake and would completely bypass the scrubber (path of least resistance) if I didn't have the valve on the open end restricting it as well. I tried using the APEX solenoid to open when the pH got above a certain point, but it didn't let near enough air through (like I can barely suck air through it at full... sucking power ;Bored).

 

[spacetime]

Ah man, I'm going to make this as confusing as possible (lol I have that tendancy) because I'm not home to take pictures.

So, from the skimmer itself I ran tubing (the 3/8" stuff that comes with the BRS brand CO2 scrubber). Right after the tubing attaches to the silencer on the skimmer I put a Tee in. One end goes to the scrubber and the other has a little ball valve on it (the same that is used for 1/4" RODI tubing). The purpose of the valve is to control how much air goes through the scrubber and how much goes directly to the skimmer. The end that goes to the scrubber is connected directly to it. The intake of the scrubber is where I connected the "humidifier".

So yes, you were right on both counts. It is just split off of the skimmer intake and would completely bypass the scrubber (path of least resistance) if I didn't have the valve on the open end restricting it as well. I tried using the APEX solenoid to open when the pH got above a certain point, but it didn't let near enough air through (like I can barely suck air through it at full... sucking power ;Bored).

Thanks! And the humidifier, is that just an intake and exit tube on the cap that you made?

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Thanks! And the humidifier, is that just an intake and exit tube on the cap that you made?

It's actually the silencer from a Reef Octopus HOB skimmer. You could definitely just use the cap from whatever bottle you use for the reservoir. Drill two holes side by side and insert something in one that you could attach the tubing to. The 3/8" stuff that came with the scrubber is quite large so I used another piece of smaller silicone tubing to step it down to attach to the 1/4" RODI line and the intake on the silencer.

 

[saltyfilmfolks]

 

[revhtree]

Great read but now I am not sure what the best option is for me! My system is 425g or so and I am looking for a solution that is less maintenance! But maybe this is just what I need!

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Great read but now I am not sure what the best option is for me! My system is 425g or so and I am looking for a solution that is less maintenance! But maybe this is just what I need!

If you got enough/bigger scrubbers it's more than doable. If I added another reactor I could probably get a month out of the media + it takes less than five minutes to change it out = five minutes a month for solid pH. Granted you'd probably have to run something closer to what the BRS team has on the 160 (realistically double or triple that), but with a 425 gallon system I'm sure you're used to putting more in to get the results

 

[David_Ewen]

.

Despite my efforts this time was worse. My pH was far less stable and it only lasted nine days! Time for another refill! One thing I had noticed this time was how quickly the canister would dry out (something I didn't think to check before). This round I tried to "refill" the canister with RO/DI water every two days.

Finally making progress!

Alright cool, I FINALLY have results that I'm happy with... except one thing. The whole refill-every-two-days thing didn't fit into my two week maintenance free minimum. Here's what I came up with. Lol I know it's crude, but it works. An old bottle of AcroPower, a skimmer silencer, and some tubing. Now the air intake has to run through the bottle that I can fill with water. As that water evaporates it runs through the scrubber intake keeping the media from drying out.

Ty,
Thanks for sharing this info. I've been running the BRS absorbent and it's been working well.

What I didn't know is the absorbent is supposed to have some moisture and that it will work better and last longer. It's because of your post I found this out. I also learned that the pellets are supposed to have a small air gap at the top.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Oh snap! I'm glad I could help, but I don't know about the gap at the top thing! That is just me trying to save the sponge on the cap. I feel like I'm going to break it off twisting it against the media when its all the way full.

 

[David_Ewen]

Ah man, I'm going to make this as confusing as possible (lol I have that tendancy) because I'm not home to take pictures.

So, from the skimmer itself I ran tubing (the 3/8" stuff that comes with the BRS brand CO2 scrubber). Right after the tubing attaches to the silencer on the skimmer I put a Tee in. One end goes to the scrubber and the other has a little ball valve on it (the same that is used for 1/4" RODI tubing). The purpose of the valve is to control how much air goes through the scrubber and how much goes directly to the skimmer. The end that goes to the scrubber is connected directly to it. The intake of the scrubber is where I connected the "humidifier".

So yes, you were right on both counts. It is just split off of the skimmer intake and would completely bypass the scrubber (path of least resistance) if I didn't have the valve on the open end restricting it as well. I tried using the APEX solenoid to open when the pH got above a certain point, but it didn't let near enough air through (like I can barely suck air through it at full... sucking power ;Bored).

Ty,
I use a solenoid valve that has a large enough orifice to allow plenty of air flow. I'm away from home. If you PM me, I'll post the brand later.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Ty,
I use a solenoid valve that has a large enough orifice to allow plenty of air flow. I'm away from home. If you PM me, I'll post the brand later.

Are you running it on the APEX?

 

[David_Ewen]

Are you running it on the APEX?

Yes, I control it with my Apex, but it's a 24v(AC) valve, so I had to buy the power supply from Amazon (or eBay if you prefer). It's been good quality. I've had it stay on for 8-10 hours straight when the pH is holding.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

@Tahoe61

 

[Tahoe61]

Thank you for putting this together, I really enjoyed the thread.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

Thank you for putting this together, I really enjoyed the thread.

Thanks for taking the time to read it, and thank you @mdbannister for the tag! Kind of humbling having you guys on my thread

Did you see anything that you think I could improve on, or is CO2 scrubbing straight forward once you hit your stride?

 

[Sir Chris]

This might b stupid question I don't use a scrubber and made my own skimmer in sump. Would feeding the skimmer oxygen from a O2 tank b benificial or is it 2 pure. The co2 scrubber is taking carbon from the air so it's pure going into the skimmer. I know calving and pressure would b difficult but changing tanks would b easier then changing and filling a reactor. Anything lmk this is a complete shot in the dark thanks. Don't rip me as I don't have a scrubber and hate using a buffer as that means something ur doing is wrong usally

 

[atoll]

All very interesting.
Now, has anybody running a waterfall ATS noticed a positive effect on CO2 reduction as the GHA takes it up with the consequence of an increase in PH levels?

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

This might b stupid question I don't use a scrubber and made my own skimmer in sump. Would feeding the skimmer oxygen from a O2 tank b benificial or is it 2 pure. The co2 scrubber is taking carbon from the air so it's pure going into the skimmer. I know calving and pressure would b difficult but changing tanks would b easier then changing and filling a reactor. Anything lmk this is a complete shot in the dark thanks. Don't rip me as I don't have a scrubber and hate using a buffer as that means something ur doing is wrong usally

No. O2 has nothing to do with pH. It is accumulation of CO2 that causes low pH. In order to use that O2 (which is presumably low in CO2, but that would need evidence), you would need to raise O2 way too high in order to flush out the CO2.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley]

All very interesting.
Now, has anybody running a waterfall ATS noticed a positive effect on CO2 reduction as the GHA takes it up with the consequence of an increase in PH levels?

Yes, growing microalgae and macroalgae alaae in any way raises pH.

 

[Ty Hamatake]

This might b stupid question I don't use a scrubber and made my own skimmer in sump. Would feeding the skimmer oxygen from a O2 tank b benificial or is it 2 pure. The co2 scrubber is taking carbon from the air so it's pure going into the skimmer. I know calving and pressure would b difficult but changing tanks would b easier then changing and filling a reactor. Anything lmk this is a complete shot in the dark thanks. Don't rip me as I don't have a scrubber and hate using a buffer as that means something ur doing is wrong usally

I would never rip anyone for bringing up a sweet conversation topic like this! From what I've read (I don't I have the greatest grasp on this, but I think I'm starting to understand...) it seems like the key to a higher pH is purely the reduction of CO2. I don't know if pure O2 has the ability to remove that CO2. It may have some impact if it's replacing some or all of the air going into the skimmer. So say your skimmer is pulling 600 L/H of air, you hook up the O2 bottle and it's supplying 200 L/H, so in theory now you're only pulling 400 L/H of ambient air containing the CO2. Lol I think I'm getting too deep, but I don't know if this would be as effective as scrubbing the whole 600L of air.

As far as ease of maintenance, it takes me like three minutes to change the media. It is only filtering air so it stay dry and you can have it pretty much anywhere you want as long as you have enough tubing. I don't have to turn anything off to change it either. So it's literally unscrewing the canister, dumping the media in the trash, and refilling it.

EDIT: ha ha, I was close!!! Thanks @Randy Holmes-Farley

 

[atoll]

Yes, growing microalgae and macroalgae alaae in any way raises pH.

Of course it does, but my question was to those running an ATS, in particular, a waterfall design noticed a significant increase in their tanks PH level going up or otherwise. As we know algae take up CO2 but at what rate to make a significant effect on PH esp with an ATS ? Anybody with an Apex and the like (I haven't) able to report such readings?