My CO2 Scrubber

Checked the middle and see if it has changed color like the outside. I use sorb in my rebreather and we pack the scrubber to avoid channeling ie co2 dipassling the media. Gas always looks for the easiest path
 
I attached airline tubing from my Tunze 9004 and ran the tube outside but my PH has barely gone up (only about .1-.2). I am adding another fan to my tank soon as Id like to lower my daytime temps just a tad. Im going to see if that extra fan helps with PH but if not, I'll definitely be adding a scrubber soon.

Thanks for this post and I'll be tagging along to see how it goes.

treetopflyn said:
Thanks Dr. Please keep updating.

On a side not has anyone ever noticed a difference in PH when running a fan across a sump surface? I am thinking about shutting mine down since the only thing I see it doing is causing more evaporation causing me to refill my ATO more frequently. My tank runs at 77 with or without the fan.
Click to expand...

Fans blowing across the surface of the water do help with PH as they break up the surface releasing CO2 from the water. That said, it may not be a strong enough fan to make any real difference in PH, but like you said, it will evaporate your water faster.

If your tank is running 77 without the fan and you dont think its making a difference in PH, then I would probably disconnect also.
 
Cool post. Now for the real question.....what is the benefit of running the pH higher, if its still within the "acceptable range". I assume it has to do with the buffering capacity, but thought I would let some experts answer. Wondering if it made a significant difference. Thinking along the lines that an Alk of 7.5 and 8.5 are not much different as far as how successful one can be with a reef a long as its stable. How is ph different? TIA.
 
ans blowing across the surface of the water do help with PH as they break up the surface releasing CO2 from the water. That said, it may not be a strong enough fan to make any real difference in PH, but like you said, it will evaporate your water faster.
Click to expand...

You can increase Ph with evaporated water by dosing all evaporated water with Kalk instead of regular RO/DI. Kalk has a high Ph.

Dr Thompson mentions erratic Ca/Alk, with Kalk. Ive exoerianced the opposite. Kalk is a balanced Ca/Alk mixture. Been dosing it for 20 years to all evaporated water. I monitor my Alk religiously, and it stays stable, but dont measure Ph.

Co2 scrubbers are becoming very popular, will follow Dr. Thompsons experiment, :)
 
Hey Eddie, always enjoy reading your advice.

Questions:
How much top off water do you add daily?
How often do you mix the kalk in the ro/di water?
How much Kalk do you add to your RO/DI water?

Problems I've had using Kalk in my ATO:
I only lose about 1gal/day and have a 10gal container with ATO system to replenish. My ATO container lasts over a week. I've noticed the Kalk effectiveness (increase in ph,alk,ca) decreases as the solution gets older. I've also noticed that I get a collection of kalk slurry at the bottom which collects over time and unless I clean the container the pump ends up dumping it into my system.
 
CO2 scrubbers have an impact with modern homes that are too well sealed up, in terms of air exchange. Get enough people/animals breathing in that sealed up home, and the CO2 levels inside get elevated. It's the inside elevated CO2 that leads to depressed pH in our tanks, even with good alk. Before scrubbers became commonplace, some people used to put holes the walls of their house in order to run the air intake to the skimmer outside.
 
How much top off water do you add daily? -Dont know. Its set on an ATO to replace all evaporated water, but I can say my 18 gallon reservoir lasts 1-2 weeks, so approx 1.5 gallons per day.
How often do you mix the kalk in the ro/di water? whenever the container empties, every 1.5 weeks or so.
How much Kalk do you add to your RO/DI water? 1.5 teaspoons per gallon

Problems I've had using Kalk in my ATO:
I only lose about 1gal/day and have a 10gal container with ATO system to replenish. My ATO container lasts over a week. I've noticed the Kalk effectiveness (increase in ph,alk,ca) decreases as the solution gets older. I've also noticed that I get a collection of kalk slurry at the bottom which collects over time and unless I clean the container the pump ends up dumping it into my system. The accumilation of the slurry is expected. Once the kalk saturates the water the rest settles at the bottom. You dose kalk by decanting the remaining saturated solution. My "feedline" in the kalk container is elevated approx 1.5" above the bottom by rubber banding it to a piece of PVC. When I notice the pump is no longer feeding (i can tell by the sound of the pump) the 1.5 " bottom still has solution but its the slurry :)
 
1 week update

1 week update

1week_zpsaff75b97.jpg


Well, for one week my pH ranged from about 8.1 to almost 8.4. Today I noticed it started to drop. Will wait a few more days until it drops consistently then I"ll change the media.
 
Very nice results Doc! The highest I've seen is 8.24 but I keep my sliding glass doors almost always closed. Have you tried opening a door or window as well to see how high your ph gets? Also can ph get to high and if so what range is that? Not that I have to worry about it but I'm curious.
 
Crackem said:
Very nice results Doc! The highest I've seen is 8.24 but I keep my sliding glass doors almost always closed. Have you tried opening a door or window as well to see how high your ph gets? Also can ph get to high and if so what range is that? Not that I have to worry about it but I'm curious.
Click to expand...

Had to reprogram my apex, it was sending me text messages all day when my pH first went over 8.3 :spin1: I've seen NSW as high as 8.4 though. As long as your alkalinity is in check there is a balanced equation that would keep the pH from going too high.
 
So long as you don't go over 8.6 you are ok. Over that is when you start having Ca precipitate out. Usually only happens if you overdose kalk or dose it too quickly.
 
IME, The scrubber will work for a limited time and then your ph will drop again, I have found better results by extending the skimmer airline intake to get fresh air from outside.
Kalkwasser is most effective when used in a stirrer reactor, you can increase the water evaporation by adding fans to blow any surface on your tank or sump
 
Rogger Castells said:
IME, The scrubber will work for a limited time and then your ph will drop again, I have found better results by extending the skimmer airline intake to get fresh air from outside.
Kalkwasser is most effective when used in a stirrer reactor, you can increase the water evaporation by adding fans to blow any surface on your tank or sump
Click to expand...

I think those of us with co2 scrubbers have no way to run a line to the outside like in my condo. I have 3 fans and I dose kalk but not in a reactor.
 
Any advantages of running a tank with PH from 8.0-8.3, rather than 7.8-8.1?

Are the corals or fish responding better to it?
 
Cool.....nice to hear it helps

I ran an airstone in the return section of my sump for about 20 minutes to see how it would effect the ph. I only moved about .1 on the apex probe

Moral of the story....... this is NOT an alternative ( ;
 
Well airstone only cycling the "air" which is prob full of CO2...where as this scrubber is taking out the carbon out of the CO2 :) So pure O2 is going into the water via skimmer...thus the large jumps in PH
 
Do you think running a line into the attic would be considered fresh air? There is no one breathing up there (that I know of, lol) so there should be fresh oxygen with the flow through the attic vents. Would be hot air, but fresh right?
 
Ocean Mang said:
Do you think running a line into the attic would be considered fresh air? There is no one breathing up there (that I know of, lol) so there should be fresh oxygen with the flow through the attic vents. Would be hot air, but fresh right?
Click to expand...

I would say that would be ok...but in my case I would not want to run the risk of having some insulation getting sucked through the skimmer lines :)
 
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