Lasses Dream Build

jsker · Aug 8, 2016

Lasse said:
My DIY Scrubber

You take an old air driven filter from the 70s, a small filter mat and media for rebreathing

Is it effective? Yes I think so.

Look at my graph below - it is from the last three days - starting 12:00 5/8 and ending 16:15 today. The first day I run the system without my CO2 scrubber - only with reversed light (22:00 - 10:00) in my refugium (only red and some blue wavelengths) Around 10:00 the 6/8 I connected my CO2 scrubber - the pH was driven up to over 8:45. I let the scrubber be connected to around 7:00 the 7/8, It was disconnected till around 22:00 the 7/8. Reconnected at that time - and see what’s happen -> the pH stabilized at 8.35. This indicate that it is lesser than 200 ppm CO2 in the air connected to the skimmer and the scrubber. There is probably some interference from my refugium but not so much (yet)

Seven o´clock I disconnected the scrubber and have not connected it again.

To work well – there must be some water in the media. From start – there is 20 % water in the media but after 2 – 3 weeks I have to put some water over the media every day to have it effective for a prolonged time. I will do some test for how long you can run the media without change it out to new media

Sincerely Lasse

Thank you posting this, There have been a few that I have point you way asking about Co2 scrubbers. Nice job again

gettaReef · Aug 8, 2016

Thank you for sharing. Very interesting, I have heard of this method before to increase ph (in fact bulk reef supply in the US sells their own reactor specifically for this reason with correct media I believe), but adding little water to media is new information. I assume it is tap or RODI water you add, and not saltwater, correct? I don't think bulk reef supply suggests adding water (I could be wrong), which is odd as you state the addition of water to the media is critical. Interesting

Lasse · Aug 8, 2016

gettaReef said:
Thank you for sharing. Very interesting, I have heard of this method before to increase ph (in fact bulk reef supply in the US sells their own reactor specifically for this reason with correct media I believe), but adding little water to media is new information. I assume it is tap or RODI water you add, and not saltwater, correct? I don't think bulk reef supply suggests adding water (I could be wrong), which is odd as you state the addition of water to the media is critical. Interesting

I think they had that option but it´s looks like they do not have it for sale any longer

Sincerely Lasse

morpheas · Aug 8, 2016

gettaReef said:
Thank you for sharing. Very interesting, I have heard of this method before to increase ph (in fact bulk reef supply in the US sells their own reactor specifically for this reason with correct media I believe), but adding little water to media is new information. I assume it is tap or RODI water you add, and not saltwater, correct? I don't think bulk reef supply suggests adding water (I could be wrong), which is odd as you state the addition of water to the media is critical. Interesting

Nope they do: "2) Add one teaspoon of water to the bottom of the filter canister (not the cartridge). Do not get the soda lime wet.".

On the other hand though i use it dry as purposed by the diy thread i followed. Its still effective but maybe the life is shorter or it's not as effective. Maybe @Lasse or someone else can enlighten us as to why the water is added...

gettaReef · Aug 8, 2016

morpheas said:
Nope they do: "2) Add one teaspoon of water to the bottom of the filter canister (not the cartridge). Do not get the soda lime wet.".

On the other hand though i use it dry as purposed by the diy thread i followed. Its still effective but maybe the life is shorter or it's not as effective. Maybe @Lasse or someone else can enlighten us as to why the water is added...

Well look at that, of course I was wrong! Thanks for clarifying. Interesting how BRS suggests to add just a teaspoon of water, and not to the media but in the canister, where Lasse has had success with adding water directly to the media and says it's necessary. Lasse, what is your explanation for adding water to the media, what exactly does it do and what are the benefits? What is your opinion on using this method without the addition of water to the media? Haha, I'm asking these questions merely out of curiosity and bc I plan to use method on my new build (and possibly some of my other systems if I get the results I'm hoping for), and would personally have no problem adding water to the media...I would just like to use the most effective method and to understand how that method works. I plan to DIY a reactor, similar to yours Lasse. Thank you morpheas and Lasse

Lasse · Aug 8, 2016

You probably misunderstood me a little – or I was not completely clear in my writings. To add water is not essential for it to work in the beginning because it is already about 20 % water in the media. I add water just to have to work a little bit longer and don´t do it before I see that it does not work so well. Basically it’s enough if the air is humid and the easiest way for me has been to add water in very small amounts over the media – but can you add water in a reservoir that make the incoming air 100 % humid (or near) – you do not need to add water every day. So I think both methods work. I do not know why bulk reef supply say to not add water over the media but you can´t add so much water to the media so it clogs.

The media is mostly calcium hydroxide and together with water and CO2 it will form Calcium Carbonate (limestone) because of the high pH in the solution. The CO2 will transform to CO3 and after that together with Ca ions form CaCO3. What you are doing is that you transform the solid calcium hydroxid to solid calcium carbonate but in order to do that you need water as a solvent as a middle stepp. Water from the media or very humid air. To add water will prolong the time the media is effective - how long - I do not know for the moment

Sincerely Lasse

gettaReef · Aug 8, 2016

That makes sense, thank you for the explanation

morpheas · Aug 8, 2016

@Lasse that makes total sense. Thank you for taking the time to explain!

Lasse · Aug 9, 2016

At the moment - CO2 scrubbing is too effective in my system. The pH will rise to high and I risk to get to low CO2 for my macro algae during the night (reversed light regime).

During some days I have connected the scrubber around 22:00 – 23:00 and disconnect it around 7:00 in the morning. The result has been a stable pH around the pH that I had at the connecting moment.

The reason why have done this is based on an observation I did some weeks ago. I measure the redox potential at the same time and I had the usual dips during the time with highest pH. In one case I test to run the CO2 scrubber only between 22:00 and 7:00. The result give me a surprise – the pH was stable during the night (at the high endpoint) but the redox show its normal behaviour and start to rise around 23:00 in spite of the fact that the pH did not go down.

I used an old redox probe and I change it to a new one and now it has stabilize so much that I can repeat the experiment – and the result is the same. The redox start to rise around 23:00 in spite of the fact that the pH not going down. 23:00 is the end of my photoperiod for the DT – and start of the photoperiod for the refugium. The DT has a lot of blue wavelengths (including violet and UV (420 and 400 nm) – the refugium mostly red (630 and 660 nm).

In my system it looks like it is the photoperiod – not the pH itself - is most responsible for the variations of the redox potential. Can it be a photo chemical process (with radicals) responsible for the variations – not directly the pH? In my system I also use a Oxydator – a thing that give out very small amounts of hydrogen peroxide in a constant mode. @Randy Holmes-Farley - any input on this?

Sincerely Lasse

Lasse · Aug 14, 2016

Some new pictures

Sincerely Lasse

Lasse · Aug 14, 2016

Its around 2 months since start (18/7 2016) of the aquarium and it works according my plans. For the moment - I´m waiting for a little bit better refugium light.

Otherwise – everything that I attended to achieve the first two months had worked out as it should.

Here is some more pictures

Start with a FTS

Some of my shrimps

My red legged hermit

Some of my Corals

And some of my fishes

Sincerely Lasse

USMC4Life · Aug 15, 2016

Love the tank.

Lasse · Aug 15, 2016

USMC4Life said:
Love the tank.

Thank you

I am myself a little fond of it too :)

But it is still a young relationship - in a year or two - I know if it is my Dream Tank or not ;)

It might turn out that it is a nightmare instead

Sincerely Lasse

USMC4Life · Aug 15, 2016

Lasse said:
Thank you

I am myself a little fond of it too :)

But it is still a young relationship - in a year or two - I know if it is my Dream Tank or not ;)

It might turn out that it is a nightmare instead

Sincerely Lasse

Well if you ever want to brake up with the tank, well in that case send her my way! lol

Lasse · Aug 21, 2016

It seems that my refugium has start to work rather good the last weeks. The pH only vary with around 0.1 pH unit between day and night and some Caulerpa have start to grow rather fast. The species shown in the picture below had only one “leaf” to the right a week ago.

The pH curve show a steeper slope downward after 10 o’clock in the morning – probably caused by the fact that the refugium light is zero that time.

The last 5 days my calcium and alkalinity has raised and I have to halving the daily balling dose. It can be a sign that my DSB in the back has start to act as a calcium reactor – but I am not sure. I have pumped down my skimate under the DSB and the Orp is around minus 5 – minus 10 in the plenum under the DSB.

The strange relationship between the Orp and the pH I reported in post 189 is not so prominent for the moment – but there is something fishy going on. I´ll come back later when my Orp readings in the water column has stabilized itself.

Sincerely Lasse

Lasse · Aug 22, 2016

A couple of pictures

Sincerely Lasse

tropfrog · Aug 23, 2016

Nice work Lasse! You got me to register for this forum as well :). I just loved to follow your old threads at Swedish forums. Good idea to turn over seas with your reports, people seems to be more curious and thinking less within "the box" here.

Just tell me a good time and i come visit this tank, the big ones at your work and you :).

BR
Magnus

revhtree · Aug 23, 2016

Lasse said:
A couple of pictures

Sincerely Lasse

Looks very nice my friend!

Lasse · Aug 23, 2016

tropfrog said:
Nice work Lasse! You got me to register for this forum as well :). I just loved to follow your old threads at Swedish forums. Good idea to turn over seas with your reports, people seems to be more curious and thinking less within "the box" here.

Just tell me a good time and i come visit this tank, the big ones at your work and you :).

BR
Magnus