Added the BRS Jumbo CO2 scrubber but wondering if it is too far away from skimmer?

[wintrmte]

Hi All -

I recently added the BRS Jumbo CO2 scrubber to my system but it's not in the cabiet with the skimmer. It is about 10 feet away and something I've noticed is the Skimmer seems like it isn't getting as much air as it's not producing skimmate like it used to.

I was reading on the BRS description that the longer the hose, the less air the skimmer will get - which can cause issues.

I'm curious if anyone has used an inline air pump to increase the air flow into the skimmer from a CO2 reactor? Or, is 10 feet of hose really an issue and is it something else I've got going wrong?

Thanks!!

 

[jackson6745]

The long length of hose will create resistance and lower airflow to skimmer. If you had a large powerful DC skimmer you could dial up the pump, if not find a location to shorten the line

 

[jackson6745]

You’re also going to want to rig it up “recirculating” if you want the media to last.

 

[TehBrainz]

Length of hose definitely has an effect on skimmer performance. I had to increase the length of my non-CO2 scrubbing hose to "match" the resistance I was seeing through the CO2 media and hose. Otherwise my skimmer fluctuated in performance when my valve switched between the CO2 media and room air

 

[TehBrainz]

You’re also going to want to rig it up “recirculating” if you want the media to last.

Absolutely do this!

 

[wintrmte]

Thank you all for your responses! I'm going to try to shorten the length of the tube and move the CO2 scrubber closer.

I have the RedSea Skimmer 600 and will look at a recirculating modification. Great ideas, thank you!!

 

[TehBrainz]

Thank you all for your responses! I'm going to try to shorten the length of the tube and move the CO2 scrubber closer.

I have the RedSea Skimmer 600 and will look at a recirculating modification. Great ideas, thank you!!

Check out FishofHex.com for recirculating modifications. I had to send my skimmer cap in for a print to be made, but it looks like he has your skimmer already designed

https://fishofhex.com/products/red-sea-rsk-600-co2-attachment

 

[wintrmte]

Ok just to update. Turns out my Skimmer pump went bad! The dual controller had the pump running at 80% but the pump was running a lot less than that.

Opened a ticket with RedSea and they were amazing to work with. Shipped a pump out next day and the Skimmer is running awesome and doesn’t seem starved for air.

I did shorted the tube though and ordered the recirculating kit off the website mentioned above.

Thanks again for the help!