Skimmer Recirc Challenges

[Rovert]

I know many of you recirculate the air from the skimmer to your feed pump through a CO2 scrubber. How do you manage the humidity that collects? I've had some challenges dealing with how to prevent condensation from collecting in the scrubber and causing the media to become wet. So far I tried routing a segment of the lines through the 'muffler' on my RedSea Regal, but that only lasts a short while until the water starts getting sucked into the line and eventually heads to the CO2 scrubber.

Any suggestions?

 

[Dan_P]

Have you tried skipping the CO2 trap for a few days to see how the pH responds?

 

[Rovert]

Have you tried skipping the CO2 trap for a few days to see how the pH responds?

There's a reason why I added the scrubber....

 

[Dan_P]

There's a reason why I added the scrubber....

Because you tried it and it did not work like it did on the BRS video.

 

[Steve2020]

Because you tried it and it did not work like it did on the BRS video.

CO2 scrubbers in a recirc configuration when set up properly do work and work really good. Are you calling the CO2 media or something else a CO2 trap or did you mean moister trap? It's funny how you mention BRS when you have no Idea if the person who started this thread even watched the video. Rovert never mentions BRS in his post.

 

[Rovert]

CO2 scrubbers in a recirc configuration when set up properly do work and work really good. Are you calling the CO2 media or something else a CO2 trap or did you mean moister trap? It's funny how you mention BRS when you have no Idea if the person who started this thread even watched the video. Rovert never mentions BRS in his post.

Actually, I have no idea which video the other poster alludes to.

That said, I need to find a way to prevent condensation from reaching the reactor. When recirculating air directly to the reactor, water collects at the bottom and gets sucked up into the media. When routing through the little 'muffler', it's so small that it also gets filled with condensate to the point where it sputters and gets pulled through to the reactor anyway. So, looking for some helpful ideas.

 

[Steve2020]

The CO2 scrubber in your photo looks like an Ice Cap and if so you have your air lines reversed. There should be a tube in the scrubber that goes down near the bottom. That would be the air inlet. Air goes down to the bottom of the scrubber and then then gets sucked thru the media and out the top. The way you have your air lines, air is coming in at the top of the media which is not correct. There is a gap between the plate and the bottom of the scrubber that should collect the moister and keep it from getting the media wet. One issue with that scrubber is there is no drain incase it collects to much water. In my opinion the media more than likely will be depleted before it fills up with too much water. You could drill a hole in the bottom of the scrubber and insert a plug or valve to empty the water if you need too.

 

[Steve2020]

The CO2 scrubber in your photo looks like an Ice Cap and if so you have your air lines reversed. There should be a tube in the scrubber that goes down near the bottom. That would be the air inlet. Air goes down to the bottom of the scrubber and then then gets sucked thru the media and out the top. The way you have your air lines, air is coming in at the top of the media which is not correct. There is a gap between the plate and the bottom of the scrubber that should collect the moister and keep it from getting the media wet. One issue with that scrubber is there is no drain incase it collects to much water. In my opinion the media more than likely will be depleted before it fills up with too much water. You could drill a hole in the bottom of the scrubber and insert a plug or valve to empty the water if you need too.

I just watched a video about your scrubber on YouTube and yours is hooked up the way they showed it in the video but that makes absolutely no sense to me. Air should not enter from the top if running recirc. The media will get wet. I guess it would work if not running recirc. I would still switch the airlines If the tube in the scrubber is along the side and not in the middle.

 

[reddogf5]

Mount the scrubber higher than the skimmer cap.

 

[Rovert]

I just watched a video about your scrubber on YouTube and yours is hooked up the way they showed it in the video but that makes absolutely no sense to me. Air should not enter from the top if running recirc. The media will get wet. I guess it would work if not running recirc. I would still switch the airlines If the tube in the scrubber is along the side and not in the middle.

Yeah, I did follow the instructions, but changed it last night per your suggestion. Thanks!

Mount the scrubber higher than the skimmer cap.

Will give that a try, thanks!

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

I put a “catch cup” reactor in line before the scrubber. Its the same reactor, just not filled with media, but a damp sponge instead. This makes sure that the air stays humid but nothing wet can make it to the media.

 

[Steve2020]

I know many of you recirculate the air from the skimmer to your feed pump through a CO2 scrubber. How do you manage the humidity that collects? I've had some challenges dealing with how to prevent condensation from collecting in the scrubber and causing the media to become wet. So far I tried routing a segment of the lines through the 'muffler' on my RedSea Regal, but that only lasts a short while until the water starts getting sucked into the line and eventually heads to the CO2 scrubber.

Any suggestions?

You are running a Regal 250-INT so I am assuming you have a large total water volume of at least 200gal. If that is the case, the 250-INT can pull 2400L of air on setting 5. Even if lets say you are running the pump on setting 3 you are still pulling a lot of air. Running only one airline from the top of the skimmer will restrict the airflow to the scrubber. I used to run only two air lines from my skimmer to the scrubber and was only seeing a .2 change in ph with my setup. My lid would not always seat properly due to the pressure in the cup so I decided to try 6 lines and that made a huge change in my ph. I have an Elite 220-INT that can also pull 2400L of air on setting 5. I run on setting 3. The Icecap scrubber in the photo looks a little small. Is it the small, medium or large?
So, I am curious on why Icecap would make a media reactor that is supposedly made to run flow from top to bottom when the other 95% of media reactors run flow from bottom to top. And yes these devices with the name scrubber are media reactors.
You do need moisture in the air for the CO2 absorbing media to achieve maximum performance but you do not want it to sit in water. There are different ways to run a CO2 scrubber and some methods are way more efficient than others. The amount of ph change you are looking for should determine the method you use.
The method I am using will give a big ph increase with what I consider a small fluctuation in ph from day to night and no I am not running a refugium with an opposite light cycle nor am I dosing kalkwasser.
The setup I am using requires a control system to limit how high I want my ph to go. In my case I am using an electronic ball valve that is controlled by my Profilux 4 controller to set my upper ph limit to 8.44-8.45. I can explain in more detail on how this works if you are interested.
As far as moisture collection, I don't have an issue with it. My setup which is fairly large only collects about 1TBS per week. I only have to change out my media once every 5-6wks. I check the water level in the first canister once a week and in the almost 2yrs of running I only drained it once with the drain plug and that was at the beginning when I was not sure how much water it would hold before touching the media.
I also run a little fresh air into my scrubber which I can also explain that if you are interested.
Sorry so long but I think it is important to show proof of something instead of just saying it works.

Moisture is collecting in the lines but does not push all the way to the scrubber. I feed my tank a few time a day and I shut down my return pump which also shuts down my skimmer. The water you see collecting in the lines falls back into the skimmer when it shuts down.

Moisture droplets collecting on the walls of the tubing but if you notice at the "Y" prior to entering the scrubber, the line going into the scrubber has little if any moisture collecting. That other line coming into the "Y" is the fresh air line. That air line runs 65ft to my furnace fresh are return hose.

You can see the moisture collected in the scrubber. Not even half way up and that is 3 weeks of moisture.
When the first scrubber canister is depleted and the second canister just starts to change color I will sometimes swap the canisters and refill the depleted one but not all the time. I have not seen any real difference in ph or media depletion time whether I swap them out or not.


Plugs in the two breather holes I am not using. You need to plug any unused holes so all the recirc goes to the scrubber.


After I fed the tank. No water in the lines due to skimmer turns off during feeding. Skimmer is running in the video.

PH back in March 2021 prior to scrubber.

Scrubber installed with no recirc, but did have fresh air inputted into the scrubber along with room air.

Two screen shots showing scrubber running recirc configuration along with fresh air input. 0.08 variation in ph from day to night.

 

[Rovert]

I have a CADE1800 so the total volume of display+sump is about 200 gallons. Presently running the skimmer (Varios pump) on '3' and dialed back the water height to get a more dry skimmate. Ideally I'd like to introduce fresh air from outside the house to the intake, but that's not anything I can do at the moment. Thanks for the ideas, though. Might need to 'supersize' the scrubber.

 

[jimmypencil]

Actually, I have no idea which video the other poster alludes to.

That said, I need to find a way to prevent condensation from reaching the reactor. When recirculating air directly to the reactor, water collects at the bottom and gets sucked up into the media. When routing through the little 'muffler', it's so small that it also gets filled with condensate to the point where it sputters and gets pulled through to the reactor anyway. So, looking for some helpful ideas.

i use a collection cup from fish of hex aquatics, it works well but i did still get condensation in the reactor after about 3 weeks.

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

i use a collection cup from fish of hex aquatics, it works well but i did still get condensation in the reactor after about 3 weeks.

What happened? Toast the media? Spike ph?

 

[jimmypencil]

What happened? Toast the media? Spike ph?

i think it just toasted the media. Scrubber worked well for about three weeks but ph just started dropping the other day. theres a ton of condensation in the reactor and there is maybe 5-10 tbs of water in the condensation collection cup. I was using the BRS scrubber but i also have the icekap scrubber on hand so im gonna give that one a go now just to see. There may have been a hole in the bag of the media the icekap came with and im wondering if that would totally deplete it lol it was still white but maybe it switched back colors.

 

[WestMI-Reefer]

i think it just toasted the media. Scrubber worked well for about three weeks but ph just started dropping the other day. theres a ton of condensation in the reactor and there is maybe 5-10 tbs of water in the condensation collection cup. I was using the BRS scrubber but i also have the icekap scrubber on hand so im gonna give that one a go now just to see. There may have been a hole in the bag of the media the icekap came with and im wondering if that would totally deplete it lol it was still white but maybe it switched back colors.

I see! Thanks for the reply. I’m just getting my reef started and have a similar setup, knowing the potential challenges ahead of time helps a lot. Going to toss my stored media in an extra plastic bag now lol I’ve seen a lot of debate on here comparing the different media brands (color changing, longer lasting, price)

 

[jimmypencil]

I see! Thanks for the reply. I’m just getting my reef started and have a similar setup, knowing the potential challenges ahead of time helps a lot. Going to toss my stored media in an extra plastic bag now lol I’ve seen a lot of debate on here comparing the different media brands (color changing, longer lasting, price)

i used the icekap media on the BRS scrubber originally and it worked well

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

i use a different air dryer, Ozotech it heats the media so never have to change the media and mine is mounted nowhere near the sump. i cant imagine using one where you have to constantly replace media.

routing=skimmer venturi pulls outside air thru the dryer (unless its sub zero outsied), into the ozone generator , then to the skimmer. 10+ years zero issues.

 

[Steve2020]

i use a different air dryer, Ozotech it heats the media so never have to change the media and mine is mounted nowhere near the sump. i cant imagine using one where you have to constantly replace media.

routing=skimmer venturi pulls outside air thru the dryer (unless its sub zero outsied), into the ozone generator , then to the skimmer. 10+ years zero issues.

Are you saying you never have to change the CO2 absorbing media? If so are you using color changing media?