pH toooooo low!

[bubbaque]

Does this make sense?

 

[2una]

OK i think were on to something but I'm a little confused on the execution. Sorry for being dense.
One thing I know for sure is, the venturi needs moist air.
So I can run a line from outside the tank to the hole in the lid of the skimmer cap or to the barb that currently connects the cup to the venturi.
And I can connect the scrubber to the venturi. But how do I get moist air in there?

For a short time suss out to see if there really is any difference i would go from outside the sump area to the venturi staying out of involving the cup for air intake.
If that actually does show any improvement then maybe you could look at a larger fitting into the skimmer lid with a pipe running from outside to it.
With the co2 media - i'd be worried having it between cup & venturi for fear of it flooding the media with water should the skimmer ever overflow.
For me to involve the media i'd put it on the end of the tube outside the sump on the line heading to the skimmer lid.
Keeping the co2 media moist i understand but i'd be wary of putting it in a position it can get flooded with water

 

[d2mini]

For a short time suss out to see if there really is any difference i would go from outside the sump area to the venturi staying out of involving the cup for air intake.
If that actually does show any improvement then maybe you could look at a larger fitting into the skimmer lid with a pipe running from outside to it.
With the co2 media - i'd be worried having it between cup & venturi for fear of it flooding the media with water should the skimmer ever overflow.
For me to involve the media i'd put it on the end of the tube outside the sump on the line heading to the skimmer lid.
Keeping the co2 media moist i understand but i'd be wary of putting it in a position it can get flooded with water

Thanks, will do exactly this tonite.
Place your bets!

 

[d2mini]

BTW, i have an old BRS Deluxe carbon/gfo canister filter laying around.
Can i use that for the soda lime or is there something specific about their actual scrubber that is different. I can't tell from the pics.

 

[bubbaque]

I used their regular media reactor.

 

[2una]

Or maybe a "T" setup would work - Put a T fitting on the side of the cup so the venturi can pull both cup air & outside sump air

 

[d2mini]

Or maybe a "T" setup would work - Put a T fitting on the side of the cup so it can pull both cup air & outside sump air

Yup, i've had a t-fitting on the line that runs between the cup and venturi before. But I figure then it would only be scrubbing around half, give or take.
I think I need max scrub.

 

[bubbaque]

For a short time suss out to see if there really is any difference i would go from outside the sump area to the venturi staying out of involving the cup for air intake.
If that actually does show any improvement then maybe you could look at a larger fitting into the skimmer lid with a pipe running from outside to it.
With the co2 media - i'd be worried having it between cup & venturi for fear of it flooding the media with water should the skimmer ever overflow.
For me to involve the media i'd put it on the end of the tube outside the sump on the line heading to the skimmer lid.
Keeping the co2 media moist i understand but i'd be wary of putting it in a position it can get flooded with water

Yes I agree with about flooding the media. I mentioned a few post ago to only do it if you have a float switch to turn the skimmer off if it does happen.

 

[2una]

Yup, i've had a t-fitting on the line that runs between the cup and venturi before. But I figure then it would only be scrubbing around half, give or take.
I think I need max scrub.

yip yip - i would guess 100% outside air would be better but if you really need the moist air for the venturi then it might kill 2 birds with 1 stone with the "T".
I think you'll see improvement away from the cup air even with no scrubber on it but adding a scrubber will bump it more.
Look forward to seeing what results you find - good luck

 

[GoVols]

Still Tagging

Great thread!!!

 

[Abhishek]

Well think I have missed a lot of discussion here .
If it's any help , this is what I have done in the past .. put a couple tablespoon of RO water in the bottom of the main co2 scrubber cartridge and then insert the inner tube with co2 media inside the cartridge .

However , Dennis when you have time , could you share what secondary chamber you tried for degassing . What I had found in the past is a longer chamber like 24 inch packed with smaller media like ARM helped to raise the effluent pH which further increased with a wooden stone constantly bubbling in the return chamber right where the effluent was administered .

The effluent dwelling time in the secondary chamber matters and longer dwelling time helped .

Regards,
Abhishek

 

[d2mini]

However , Dennis when you have time , could you share what secondary chamber you tried for degassing . What I had found in the past is a longer chamber like 24 inch packed with smaller media like ARM helped to raise the effluent pH which further increased with a wooden stone constantly bubbling in the return chamber right where the effluent was administered .

The effluent dwelling time in the secondary chamber matters and longer dwelling time helped .

Regards,
Abhishek

Yeah, it was just a simple DI cartridge and I poked a hole in the top to fit the effluent line from the reactor.
I figured it wasn't going to be very efficient but surprised i saw ZERO improvement.
Didn't add the air stone.

It's one of these. Just dribbles out the bottom since its not under pressure.

 

[Scorpius]

You're not going to see an immediate improvement, at least I didn't when I ran fresh outside air to my skimmer. Took a couple of weeks to see a difference.

 

[GoVols]

Well think I have missed a lot of discussion here .
If it's any help , this is what I have done in the past .. put a couple tablespoon of RO water in the bottom of the main co2 scrubber cartridge and then insert the inner tube with co2 media inside the cartridge .

However , Dennis when you have time , could you share what secondary chamber you tried for degassing . What I had found in the past is a longer chamber like 24 inch packed with smaller media like ARM helped to raise the effluent pH which further increased with a wooden stone constantly bubbling in the return chamber right where the effluent was administered .

The effluent dwelling time in the secondary chamber matters and longer dwelling time helped .

Regards,
Abhishek

Yeah,
GEO told me to use the "Small ARM" media in the second stage too.

Don't know if it will help @d2mini , but GEO was very adamant about the small ARM media.

 

[Want2BS8ed]

This is a good discussion!

I'm using an MRC Reeflo Orca I skimmer and one of the BRS Jumbo filters for CO2 scrubbing.

The Orca uses 3/8" HDPE Line to feed the Venturi and draws air from the top of the skimmer output. I ran a 3/8 line from the original intake into the BRS reactor and from the BRS reactor back to the Venturi. Skimmer is mounted on the wall, and the BRS reactor is mounted to a laminate beam about 2' above the skimmer (love basement fish rooms!) so, no issues with back siphoning.

One thing I did pickup from BRS's video on CO2 scrubbing: I purchased a normally closed 120v solenoid valve from McMaster-Carr that is installed in a 3/8" push-fit tee just after the CO2 scrubber. The solenoid is hooked up to my Apex and is set to open when pH hits 8.2. Because there is less restriction without the reactor and media, air is drawn through the open valve, bypassing the CO2 scrubber and saving media. When the pH drops below 8.1, it closes drawing air through the media.

With that much media, I went from just under two weeks to exhaustion to just over three. Not much, but it is a 50% increase and the valve has paid for itself now several times over.

One thing is for sure, doing it that way creates one of the most stable pH graphs I've ever encountered in a Reef tank.

I have never been a huge fan of pulling outdoor air - in my last tank I had run a 1/2" HDPE line over 28' with 2 90-deg elbows and still managed to get a bug that crawled all the way up to plug the silencer on the skimmer! FWIW, if anyone is using an Avast skimmer, the 1/2" HDPE is a perfect press fit over the intake on their Peg-Leg skimmers.

I do have a question though... way, way back in the dark ages when we were still using limewood air stones in our skimmers, MTC used to have a carbon chamber available for use between your air pump and the skimmer.

I wonder if carbon would be effective at cleaning the air (i.e. pesticides, fertilizers, etc. from outside) and/or could potentially help strip some CO2 before running it through the CO2 scrubber?

M

 

[BCSreef]

Hi Dennis,

I had the same issue with pH 7.6-7.8. House is so tightly sealed. I tried the following in this order with these results.

• Added a small secondary chamber for my 36" Geo Ca Rxer and saw a little improvement, tiny really.
• Reverse lighting cycle on refugium. Helped with the night time lows. Daytime highs unaffected.
• Pumping outside air to the skimmer Venturi. Biggest difference so far. Maybe + 0.2 to 0.3. I dose VSV through the Venturi to keep it relatively free of clogs. In fact, if I notice a drop in pH, it usually means my Venturi needs cleaning.
• The biggest difference came when I started using saturated CaOH as ATO. Now the pH is 8.3-8.4 in the day and down to about 8.2 at night.

I think all of the above have had a positive effect on pH. Hope that helps and gives you some ideas.

Bob

 

[GoVols]

One thing I did pickup from BRS's video on CO2 scrubbing: I purchased a normally closed 120v solenoid valve from McMaster-Carr that is installed in a 3/8" push-fit tee just after the CO2 scrubber. The solenoid is hooked up to my Apex and is set to open when pH hits 8.2. Because there is less restriction without the reactor and media, air is drawn through the open valve, bypassing the CO2 scrubber and saving media. When the pH drops below 8.1, it closes drawing air through the media.

That's good stuff!!!

I know that carbon, used to help purify air in submarines

 

[Meltin23]

I had the same problem and beacause my wife was pregnant i could not open the window for a long time to upload the oxygen level at the room, so i took a co2 reactor for the air inline of the skimmer. With this method the ph prices was increased (fron 7,6 to 8,1-8,2) for 4-5 days and then back to 7,6. After this i put an air pumb outside the closer to the tank window and bring fresh air to sumb at the same time i stabilize a tube at the pitside of the same window and i connect it with the air inport of the skimmer. The resault ph 8,1-8,2 with open lights and 8-8,05 with close for months mow.
I measuring with Hanna ph checker

 

[Velcro]

Dennis, iirc you use a lifereef. If so, please see this thread I made. It works REALLY well.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-best-way-to-implement-a-co2-scrubber.330806/

 

[d2mini]

Dennis, iirc you use a lifereef. If so, please see this thread I made. It works REALLY well.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/the-best-way-to-implement-a-co2-scrubber.330806/

I saw that earlier today!
My only problem is when my skimmer overflows, it will fill the scrubber.
Would have to try to pull from higher than that venturi tube.