Velcro
2500 Club Member
What this thread has: A way to implement a CO2 scrubber into your system in the most efficient way possible.
What this thread doesn’t have: Pictures of a clean skimmer.
I finally had a chance to shoot some pictures of my skimmer/CO2 scrubber setup, since I had the system out of my sump for some maintenance.
With the rise in popularity of CO2 scrubbers seemingly growing by the day, I decided to make a write up of what I think is the best way to implement these devices. While the reactors are very effective at removing CO2 from the air that passes through them, there are a few considerations that have a heavy influence on how quickly the media is depleted.
Firstly, the media must be protected from drying out. When the media dries out, it is no longer capable of neutralizing CO2. Secondly, the concentration of CO2 entering the scrubber has a huge effect on how long it will be able to function before needing to be replenished.
Protecting the media from drying out traditionally was done by adding a tablespoon or so of water to the bottom of the reactor. The idea is that this water would keep the flow of air relatively humid prior to hitting the media, which would prolong its life. In my experience, this was short lived. The water that was added to the reactor would be quickly depleted and the media would dry out. This is not a huge deal if you are okay with adding new water to the reactor every few days, but this wasn’t really an option for me.
To my knowledge, the only solution for reducing the amount of CO2 pulled into the reactor was to plumb the intake to the outdoor air. The amount of CO2 in the air outside the home should be pretty low to begin with, so it’s questionable as to how much benefit there really even is to have a CO2 scrubber before the skimmer intake in a situation where you are able to easily plumb the intake to the outdoors. The problem specifically for me with plumbing an intake outside is that I have neighbors living relatively closely to my home and I know they use a fair amount of chemicals for insects and grass. I’m not interested in chancing an air intake in that environment
The good news is, I have a solution for both of these issues. Lifereef skimmers are especially great candidates for this implementation because of the way their venture is plumbed. A major downfall to older style pump-drive venturis such as the lifereef is that if it is fed dry air, there is a very probable chance that the venturi will clog with salt creep. Lifereef solves this issue by being plumbed so that the venture pulls air from the skimmer cup. The skimmer cup is humid by nature, so it only makes sense to pull air from this source to keep the venture intake air moist, thus preventing the salt creep clogging. What is great about this relating to a CO2 scrubber is that you can place it inline between the skimmer cup and the venture so that it is fed nothing but humid air. This has completely prevented premature drying of the CO2 media, with significantly prolongs it’s lifespan.
The other major benefit to placing the reactor inline between the skimmer cup and the venturi is that you are basically recycling the air inside the skimmer. This means that the amount of CO2 being introduced to the media will be quite low compared to room air. The setup is extremely efficient as far a longevity of the media is concerned.
Now for the pictures! This is my setup… very simple. A single BRS media reactor filled with soda lime from shopvetmed.com (the best price I can find). Airflow travels from the skimmer cup, through the media reactor and into the venture. Doesn’t get much more simple that that .
This works great with a lifereef skimmer because they require a large pump to begin with, so there is no worries about bogging things down as far as air intake is concerned. I do understand that other skimmers are not set up with this type of plumbing from the skimmer cup, but I have heard of people drilling their cups and adding a hose barb in a similar fashion. I don’t think that air constriction will be a concern with most skimmers since the media isn’t densely packed, and allows for a pretty easy airflow through it.
I hope that this helps you all with implementation of a CO2 scrubber in your aquarium!
What this thread doesn’t have: Pictures of a clean skimmer.
I finally had a chance to shoot some pictures of my skimmer/CO2 scrubber setup, since I had the system out of my sump for some maintenance.
With the rise in popularity of CO2 scrubbers seemingly growing by the day, I decided to make a write up of what I think is the best way to implement these devices. While the reactors are very effective at removing CO2 from the air that passes through them, there are a few considerations that have a heavy influence on how quickly the media is depleted.
Firstly, the media must be protected from drying out. When the media dries out, it is no longer capable of neutralizing CO2. Secondly, the concentration of CO2 entering the scrubber has a huge effect on how long it will be able to function before needing to be replenished.
Protecting the media from drying out traditionally was done by adding a tablespoon or so of water to the bottom of the reactor. The idea is that this water would keep the flow of air relatively humid prior to hitting the media, which would prolong its life. In my experience, this was short lived. The water that was added to the reactor would be quickly depleted and the media would dry out. This is not a huge deal if you are okay with adding new water to the reactor every few days, but this wasn’t really an option for me.
To my knowledge, the only solution for reducing the amount of CO2 pulled into the reactor was to plumb the intake to the outdoor air. The amount of CO2 in the air outside the home should be pretty low to begin with, so it’s questionable as to how much benefit there really even is to have a CO2 scrubber before the skimmer intake in a situation where you are able to easily plumb the intake to the outdoors. The problem specifically for me with plumbing an intake outside is that I have neighbors living relatively closely to my home and I know they use a fair amount of chemicals for insects and grass. I’m not interested in chancing an air intake in that environment
The good news is, I have a solution for both of these issues. Lifereef skimmers are especially great candidates for this implementation because of the way their venture is plumbed. A major downfall to older style pump-drive venturis such as the lifereef is that if it is fed dry air, there is a very probable chance that the venturi will clog with salt creep. Lifereef solves this issue by being plumbed so that the venture pulls air from the skimmer cup. The skimmer cup is humid by nature, so it only makes sense to pull air from this source to keep the venture intake air moist, thus preventing the salt creep clogging. What is great about this relating to a CO2 scrubber is that you can place it inline between the skimmer cup and the venture so that it is fed nothing but humid air. This has completely prevented premature drying of the CO2 media, with significantly prolongs it’s lifespan.
The other major benefit to placing the reactor inline between the skimmer cup and the venturi is that you are basically recycling the air inside the skimmer. This means that the amount of CO2 being introduced to the media will be quite low compared to room air. The setup is extremely efficient as far a longevity of the media is concerned.
Now for the pictures! This is my setup… very simple. A single BRS media reactor filled with soda lime from shopvetmed.com (the best price I can find). Airflow travels from the skimmer cup, through the media reactor and into the venture. Doesn’t get much more simple that that .
This works great with a lifereef skimmer because they require a large pump to begin with, so there is no worries about bogging things down as far as air intake is concerned. I do understand that other skimmers are not set up with this type of plumbing from the skimmer cup, but I have heard of people drilling their cups and adding a hose barb in a similar fashion. I don’t think that air constriction will be a concern with most skimmers since the media isn’t densely packed, and allows for a pretty easy airflow through it.
I hope that this helps you all with implementation of a CO2 scrubber in your aquarium!
