ExtraTerrestrial Device

[Borat]

Jagshemash!

I send you welcome from THE technologically advanced nation of Kazakistan to the benefit of less advanced nations.

This poll is to determine your technological advancement (on a scale of 1-1000) as compared to the absolutely advanced nation of Kazakistan!

Please cast your vote - depending on how you might use this super-device for your reef pets..

 

[blaxsun]

If it's from Kazakistan, it must be a p*nile enlargement device.

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Vessel for calcium reactor?

 

[Borat]

No!

 

[Borat]

If it's from Kazakistan, it must be a p*nile enlargement device.

If i enlarge it - it will be larger than you tank! So no!

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Gotta bump up that Potassium production, you'll fall behind Uzbekistan if you aren't careful!

 

[Borat]

Gotta bump up that Potassium production, you'll fall behind Uzbekistan if you aren't careful!

Haha those a***e Uzbeks are to watch out for!

 

[Borat]

Ok so far the intelligence level in low single digits on a 0-1000 scale. Think harder!

 

[theatrus]

Lets see.. bubble trap. Intake top only. No flow-through media design.

Denitrator / remote deep sand bed?

 

[Borat]

Lets see.. bubble trap. Intake top only. No flow-through media design.

Denitrator / remote deep sand bed?

Close!

 

[Anemone_Fanatic]

Potassium dosing?

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

are those probe holders? (the two liquid tight cord connectors)

 

[Borat]

It's a CO2 scrubber: the air bubbles through solution of sodium hydroxide. The air is drawn externally, so the scrubber reduces the CO2 concentration further from it's 400ppm:
- there is a top-off vent (green piece) - that is used to add water and additional sodium hydroxide.
- there are 2 air intake glands (the air pump has 2 air output connectors)
- there is also an air bleed valve - I use it to calibrate the air flow to match the skimmer air intake. I simply start the reactor, open the air bleed valve and put the tube into a glass of water. I adjust the pump air flow until the air bleed valve bubbles slowly. The pump is currently running at 50% - so there is plenty of spare capacity.


In terms of sodium hydroxide usage - for my Octopus 110S skimmer and it has max 400l/h air flow rate, I estimated that it will consume a maximum of 13g of sodium hydroxide a day. That's about $5 US&A bucks a month worth of reagent - and ends up being very cheap!

The reactor maintenance is very easy - every now on I need to open the green vent, add some sodium hydroxide and maybe top up water. Any used sodium hydroxide is converted into sodium carbonate and precipitate.

Every few months or so I would need to open the reactor top and empty it (no rush! The used reagent does not affect the reactor CO2 absorbtion capacity).

 

[Borat]

I bought some 3 kg of sodium hydroxide pearls (99% purity) - these are used for CO2 scrubber. The other 3kg of sodium hydroxide pellets (99.9% purity) is for my chemical experiments with my reef tank pets!

 

[theatrus]

Nice build

I haven't run a CO2 scrubbing medium, but nice to see it in action.

 

[All_talk]

Cool idea. Any data showing its effectiveness, like pH curves pre and post implementation?

 

[Borat]

Cool idea. Any data showing its effectiveness, like pH curves pre and post implementation?

This would be a difficult ask.. I have been struggling to shift PH on my tank: for example some time ago I moved the skimmer intake to the outside of the house - but it didn't have any noticeable impact (it should have been!)... I am dosing sodium-hydroxide enriched dosing recipe - but it barely has an impact...

So whatever I do typically does not have a pronounced impact. However that does not mean that whatever I am using to increase PH does not work - it just does not work for my tank specifics..

I will watch the tank over the next week or so - and report findings. I will also try to measure the PH inside the skimmer chamber - this would be interesting to see!

 

[Borat]

My PH has increased by about 0.1 - currently it's between 8.0-8.1 during the day but drops to about 7.9 during the night hours.

That does not sound too much, but my various measures (I started dosing DIY alk dosing mix rich in sodium hydroxide) - I managed to lift to from consistently being around 7.8 to around average of 8.0, so it's a good result considering PH scale is logarithmic.

 

[Borat]

I bought some 3 kg of sodium hydroxide pearls (99% purity) - these are used for CO2 scrubber. The other 3kg of sodium hydroxide pellets (99.9% purity) is for my chemical experiments with my reef tank pets!

Now I know that the reactor works as intended - I will source cheaper sodium hydroxide sold in bulk - it's about equivalent to $40 US&A bucks (£26) for a 10KG bag. This quantity should be sufficient for about 2 years of continous CO2 scrubbing.

 

[Borat]

• A moment ago
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• #16

Some updates:
- the reactor maintenance is different from what I was originally envisaging: it requires relatively frequent water changes.
- It seems the used up sodium hydroxide turns into a gel-like substance and the airstones lose the porosity. When this happens - the solution starts to foam, it's a mystery why it foams (it should not) - but it's not the first time this phenomenon is reported. Foaming is not an issue for my reactor as it has a de-watering section that ensures foam never gets into air line, but it's been a problem for others - who used "standard" reactors.
- nowadays I fill the reactor with fresh tap water weekly and add 100g of sodium hydroxide - this effectively acts as a cleaner and the airstones remain fully effective without the need to touch/clean them.
- maintenance only takes a minute each week - really not a big deal

I added a secondary chamber (inline between the reactor and skimmer air intake) and filled it with Intersorb media 2 weeks ago (this one changes colour when used up) - so far there are no signs of media being exhausted, so this is a good indicator that the reactor is effective at stripping CO2 from outside air.