I've had a BRS CO2 scrubber setup for one week now and I thought I would share my experience with it. For some background, the tank is a WB 105.4 Frag and has been running for about two months. I spend considerable time in the room with the tank and noticed PH dropping throughout the day due to my presence. The scrubber has been effective in bringing PH up, but does require some maintenance for performance and might not be right for everyone. Since I'm literally in the same room for 10ish hours a day, it's a pretty ideal solution for me.
Prior to scrubber: PH would routinely drop close to 7.8 with an average around 7.9.
After initial setup: PH averages 8.1
Dips with causes and remedies:
Cost: The initial scrubber with basic installation on my skimmer was $38. I am using the BRS media at a rate of 1 lb./$6 per week. Not the cheapest solution but I'm happy with the results so far and it hasn't involved adjusting any other water parameters, which I'm happy with.
I hope that helps if anyone is considering adding something similar!
-Deane
Prior to scrubber: PH would routinely drop close to 7.8 with an average around 7.9.
After initial setup: PH averages 8.1
Dips with causes and remedies:
- Instructions suggest adding a small amount of water to the reactor. It had evaporated and when I replaced it, the PH rose again.
- Again, evaporation. I also noticed the media was slightly turning purple to indicate it was close to spent. I added replacement water and stirred the media to expose surface area that maybe hadn't been utilized.
- Media was decently purple so I replaced it. I could possibly have stirred it one more time but I didn't want to mess with it.
Cost: The initial scrubber with basic installation on my skimmer was $38. I am using the BRS media at a rate of 1 lb./$6 per week. Not the cheapest solution but I'm happy with the results so far and it hasn't involved adjusting any other water parameters, which I'm happy with.
I hope that helps if anyone is considering adding something similar!
-Deane