I heard a couple tablespoons of RODI in first then the media, that’s what I did…so far so good
CO2 scrubber without skimmer
- Thread starter ReefLife_Guy
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Sorry for the late replies…I’m at work, I run my mine 24/7
The only controller is on the air pump to regulate air flo….I’ll get pics ..it’s simple
I've done this before on my build thread but used a battery backup air pump. I've turned it off since it was too noisy in our kitchen. Additionally, it created too many bubbles in the tank. I've since switched to a recirc solution with a skimmer.
Regardless of which solution, I would be cautious of pushing any of that media into the tank - total system crash!
Regardless of which solution, I would be cautious of pushing any of that media into the tank - total system crash!
Yeah, I’ve been keeping an eye on it, I filled the scrubber only 75%….so far only air is going through…
I have tried different air stones with this exact setup... none of them bubble .... only if I have the tube directly in the water do I get bubbles.... are you using an air stone in all of your setups?
Yeah. I actually have 2 pumps hooked up to the scrubber, then the hose from the scrubber goes to an air stone….long green one….I put it in the overflow. I actually ordered another scrubber that I’m going to put in series with the first.
wow ok, yeah my one pump same one.. isn't strong enough to get bubbles out of the airstone when the canister is between it and the water... tried a few stones
You have the same air pump? It should, I just added the extra pump because it was flowing air from outside….
Looking at the pic of the airstone, andprobobly a dum question, the air stone is in the water right? What chamber is it in?
lol…yeah I was just showing you what it was and it’s in the overflow chamber
The air stone disperses the air I believe equally…and breaks the bubbles up…I’m not a scientist but that’s my belief lol
This works and thank you.Skimmerless CO2 Scrubber Build
I'm writing this build thread for a CO2 scrubber setup without the need for a skimmer since I had a difficult time finding anyone who had done this.
The plumbing is simple: air pump --> CO2 canister with sodalime --> an airstone placed in your sump or tank
I will include the materials I used to build this but most of it can be substituted for what you already have or for something else. The only thing I will emphasize is to try and get an air pump with a similar strength and if it isn't adjustable, to add an inline adjustable airflow valve. This is important for 2 reasons: 1. you need sufficient airflow to push the air through the canister and into your airstone 2. being able to adjust the airflow will allow you to be able to use your sodalime in the most efficient way. I assume there is a ceiling effect with how much you can raise your CO2 and no matter how much airflow you have, you will not have additional rise in pH but you will definitely go through sodalime like crazy. The airline kit below includes some of those inline airflow adjustable valves.
Materials needed (total cost for this exact setup was a little over $125 USD):
-Hygger 10W Aquarium Air Pump with 2 Ports for 55~600 Gallon Fish Tank 250GPH
-JIH Aquarium Air Pump Accessories Set -25 Feet Airline Tubing Black Standard, Air Stones,Check Valves, Suction Cups and Connectors
-JoyTube Plastic Hose Barb Reducer Pipe fittings 3/8" to 3/16" Connectors
-Universal CO2 Scrubber - Bulk Reef Supply
https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-universal-co2-scrubber.html
-JorVet Soda Lime, 3lb bag
I cannot comment on efficiency of soda lime use at this time, but I would not assume it to be much different from what is reported by others using the skimmer CO2 scrubber. I will come back to this thread and comment with how long it took before I had to change out the sodalime.
Below is the progressive change in pH I had since setting it up, my alkalinity was already at 12 dKH so I figured my only option to raise my pH was a CO2 scrubber. Seems to have a more stable range of pH fluctuation as well. You can see that I setup this scrubber on June 9th and has continued to slowly increase since then and bring the peak and troughs closer together. Now I am just adjusting the airflow rate down to maximize pH gain but minimize use of the sodalime.
If you have any questions about this setup let me know!
oh im used to seeing bubbles coming out of it, but maybe it is working lol...
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