Looking for cheap soda lime for my CO2 scrubber

I changed out the media today and notice they are in fact light purple. It's just very hard to see from the media container but once out, it's clearly changing color. The first batch I use just have a deeper purple so it's a lot easier to see. I put in a new batch tonight. With the rate I am going, I will need a lot of sodalime year long. :(

airgas called me today and said they are putting together an order for me. I am going to get 5lbs to test their stuff out.
 
airgas called again and they are actually putting together a 36lbs sodalime for me for $65. This comes out to less than $2 per lb. I am going to pick up the order next week (they happen to have a retail store 10 minutes from where I live). Let's see how their stuff works. The price definitely beats everything I have found so far by a large margin.
 
dzhuo said:
airgas called again and they are actually putting together a 36lbs sodalime for me for $65. This comes out to less than $2 per lb. I am going to pick up the order next week (they happen to have a retail store 10 minutes from where I live). Let's see how their stuff works. The price definitely beats everything I have found so far by a large margin.
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Any update? Just curious cause I am looking to purchase some soda lime. I was going to get the 3 lb. bag from shopmedvet.com but I also have an Airgas store close by.
 
I picked up the soda lime a couple of weeks ago from an Airgas office near where I live. The media works similar (as far as size and absorbing capacity goes) to the others I purchased from 2 other different companies. I plan to continue use their media for as long as I can (since they offer the best price).

My CO2 scrubber is able to keep my tank's pH between 8.0 and 8.2 without a problem.
 
For 4 years now my pH ranged from 7.78 - 8.10 in all 4 saltwater tanks, (my family must blow off a lot of CO2 in air tight house - I guess).

Last night I finally fired some BRS soda lime into my empty phos reactor, and then plugged the IN-280 skimmer air intake hose to the soda lime reactor output. The pH rose overnight from about 7.80 to 8.21! Usually my pH bottoms out overnight at 7.80 and stays there until the light come on, (despite constant kalkwasser drip while lights are out). I also pump in set amounts of CaCl2 and Na2CO3 throughout the day.

I will definitely be checking this thread regularly for the best deal on soda lime.

I may look into bringing in outside air to the skimmer to see if I can eliminate the need for the soda lime trick, but (knowing myself) this may take a while...
 
Thx Louis. The link you posted is more expensive (a lot more if factor in shipping) than the company I found. I wonder the Sodasorb HP stuff really has higher capacity or not tho? If it does, how much?

We need Boomer! :)

@HiggyBrew, have you notice any increase or decrease in skimmate production since installing the CO2 scrubber? Have you notice any air restriction?
 
@HiggyBrew, have you notice any increase or decrease in skimmate production since installing the CO2 scrubber? Have you notice any air restriction?
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I have not noticed any increase in skimmate yet. Tonight I will clean the skimmer and see how it performs compared to normal operation.

When I cut the air intake line to the skimmer I was watching the skimmer foam closely and it did not change much if at all. The line was attached near the top of the outflow tube (which is capped with a small hole on top). So far I have not had to adjust the skimmer at all.

The pH bottomed out last night about 0.24 pH units higher than normal, I love it! :lolspin:
 
I just ordered a few lbs to test out. I won't be able to use the window once the tank gets moved.

I wanted to get some thoughts on a potential setup.
I have read about running your skimmer exhaust into the skimmer intake to cut down on skimmate smell.

What would be the implications of running the skimmer in a closed / semi-closed loop to preserve the sodalime media? Is there sufficient gas exchange in the sump and display to off-gas buildups other than co2? If there are successful tanks without skimmers, I would guess there is sufficient gas exchange.

Any thoughts on recirculating the skimmer air through the soda lime? Do you think the skimmer air might be too humid for the media?
 
My alk has been steady at 132 ppm for weeks, suddenly it dropped 12 ppm the day after starting the CO2 scrubber. Why is this? Could the pH rise have caused the corals to jump start their growth? That's the only thing that I can think of right now...

Any ideas?
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Bluecoast:

I would think the humidity would shorten the life of the soda lime.

I would think it best to remove the odor (and the nasty molecules that cause it) from the tank.
 
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Happens on my tank as well, as PH increases/decreases due to the soda lime my alkalinity would bounce all over. What I did is install a T with a ball valve after the CO2 scrubber to allow some ambient air to mix in so the PH never jumps up to 8.4 or higher when the soda lime is changed out. In addition I use a Apex controller for my 2 part dosing. I figured out what the alk/calcium consumption was at the different PH levels and then programmed it so the correct amount is added based off the PH of the tank.


HiggyBrew said:
My alk has been steady at 132 ppm for weeks, suddenly it dropped 12 ppm the day after starting the CO2 scrubber. Why is this? Could the pH rise have caused the corals to jump start their growth? That's the only thing that I can think of right now...

Any ideas?
____________________________

Bluecoast:

I would think the humidity would shorten the life of the soda lime.

I would think it best to remove the odor (and the nasty molecules that cause it) from the tank.
Click to expand...
 
I am in Michigan. Airgas in Kalamazoo never called me back with a price for the 5 gallon pail of Sofnolime after I talked to them yesterday, I called them today 4 times and no one ever answered the phone.... The Battle Creek store told me that it is $100.05 for a 5 gallon pail. Anyone know of a better deal near me?
 
HiggyBrew said:
I am in Michigan. Airgas in Kalamazoo never called me back with a price for the 5 gallon pail of Sofnolime after I talked to them yesterday, I called them today 4 times and no one ever answered the phone.... The Battle Creek store told me that it is $100.05 for a 5 gallon pail. Anyone know of a better deal near me?
Click to expand...

Tagging along as I need some too.
 
My transaction with Airgas was pretty smooth. However, I never called them. I simply send them an email at customer.service@airgas.com and tell them my location. The next day, one of their sales manager routed my ticket directly to their district office where the transaction was followed up. See if you have better luck with email.
 
dzhuo said:
My transaction with Airgas was pretty smooth. However, I never called them. I simply send them an email at customer.service@airgas.com and tell them my location. The next day, one of their sales manager routed my ticket directly to their district office where the transaction was followed up. See if you have better luck with email.
Click to expand...

Dzhou... I was wondering if you are still able to get the same deal from Airgas? They said that I have to either buy a full case or the pail at $141 for the case of 3lb bags or $137 for a 5gal bucket.
 
I haven't use up my 5g bucket yet. There are still at least 70% left. $137 for 5g bucket is double what I had to pay. I was able to get a deal of $65 for 5g (cheapest you will find anywhere; that's less then $2 per lb). I have a few emails from their manager where I negotiate the quote and I am happy to share that with you guys.

Feel free to PM if you are interested and I will give out the email. Or I can cc: you (you would have to give me your email) on the email where I receive the quote so you can talk to them directly.
 
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