An Easy Way to Increase Your Tank's pH with a CO2 Scrubber

CJO · Mar 5, 2012

I'm not sure how much it will affect the back pressure using an air pump. That would be my only concern.

CJ

CalmSeasQuest · Mar 5, 2012

lpslover said:
Awesome idea. I am so going to do this. Question though: My skimmer is air pump driven. I'm assuming I could drill only one hole at the bottom of the container to create a single in and out point and use it as an inline cartridge between the air pump and skimmer. Any serious flaw in my planning here?

As long as the container and lines are large enough to prevent added resistance/backpressure it should be fine. My tunze skimmer skimmer uses the Ozone port which requires a pump. I simply pump air through the reactor containing the soda lime - It works perfectly. I also add a bit of ROX 0.8 GAC to absorb any impurities.

banzai75x · Mar 5, 2012

Do you tee off the intake airline for the skimmer or do you do it inline? I have a SRO-Xp2000 and it the skimmer intake has a line that goes to a silencer type of device.

CalmSeasQuest · Mar 5, 2012

No tee required, just run the airline through the soda-lime canister. Ideally you want all the air fed to the skimmer to be "Scrubbed" free of CO2.

MBG75 · Mar 8, 2012

Great idea, subscribed

Sent from my ADR6300 using Tapatalk

shred5 · Mar 8, 2012

So its a diy version of this:
Two Little Fishies CDX CO2 scrubber helps keep pH up

Very nice

butts182 · Mar 8, 2012

i put some media in my phosban reactor buti'm not real sure that it worked, so i ran a hose from outside to the reactor then to ths skimmer and it worked then.

wooddestine · Apr 17, 2012

Great info cj.thanks

n00b · Jun 1, 2012

nice write up!!! thanks!!! i just made mine.. my apex shows 8.19 ph as of now.. will check back in a few days with a graph..

thanks!

guichi1210 · Jun 2, 2012

This was going to be my second option if running a line from outside into the skimmer intake didn't work. My tank is next to an external wall so I drilled a small hole to pass a half inch line straight into my skimmer and within a day my pH is at 8.3 during the day and 8.1 at night from maximum 7.8 during the day and 7.6 at night. If that's not an option when I move I'll try this. Thanks...

CJO · Jun 4, 2012

n00b said:
nice write up!!! thanks!!! i just made mine.. my apex shows 8.19 ph as of now.. will check back in a few days with a graph..

thanks!

Glad to hear that it worked for you!

guichi1210 said:
This was going to be my second option if running a line from outside into the skimmer intake didn't work. My tank is next to an external wall so I drilled a small hole to pass a half inch line straight into my skimmer and within a day my pH is at 8.3 during the day and 8.1 at night from maximum 7.8 during the day and 7.6 at night. If that's not an option when I move I'll try this. Thanks...

That's another good option if you are close to an outside wall (and know where your electric lines and water pipes are in the wall!).

CJ

watdachuck · Mar 12, 2014

This is an old thread, does anyone have any recent experience with a CO2 scrubber?

I am curious for those plumbing a scrubber through their skimmers venturi. This is typically connnected through the skimmer cup to prevent clogging, anyways to avoid this?

Eric B · Mar 12, 2014

watdachuck said:
This is an old thread, does anyone have any recent experience with a CO2 scrubber?

I am curious for those plumbing a scrubber through their skimmers venturi. This is typically connnected through the skimmer cup to prevent clogging, anyways to avoid this?

I currently have one connected to my MRC Orca Pro 2......
I don't know what you are trying to ask in the second comment as the venturi on my skimmer does not pass through the collection cup. The venturi on my skimmer is right in front of the circulation pump in the plumbing and then has a john guest fitting and tubing that runs up to an air silencer device up by the skimmer cup. I just tapped the top of the silencer and connected my tubing that goes to my co2 scrubber to that and have plenty of suction through it. If you are worried that the venturi will clog with salt creep after a while I know some pour heated RODI water through the venturi every few months if this is a problem. I personally take my skimmer down a few times a year and thoroughly clean it and set it back up. Hope that answers your question.

CJO · Mar 12, 2014

Mine is still going strong and have had no adverse effects. However, I have mine connected to the air intake. I'm not sure how you would connect one to your venturi.

CalmSeasQuest · Mar 12, 2014

CJO said:
Mine is still going strong and have had no adverse effects. However, I have mine connected to the air intake. I'm not sure how you would connect one to your venturi.

+1

For my new build (BK250), I'm also running the air intake line from outside. This should reduce the amount of CO2 and lengthen the lifespan of the soda-lime media. I also include a small amount of GAC in the canister to absorb anything contaminants that might be contained in the outside air.

Masedaddy · Mar 21, 2014

watdachuck said:
This is an old thread, does anyone have any recent experience with a CO2 scrubber?

I am curious for those plumbing a scrubber through their skimmers venturi. This is typically connnected through the skimmer cup to prevent clogging, anyways to avoid this?

Are talking about the drain tube in the cup on the skimmer? The venturi tubing would be above any type of wet zone to draw in air for the pump....