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Author Topic: Homemade CO2 Scrubber  (Read 12789 times)

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Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #25 on: August 18, 2017, 23:40:49 »
I would have to question if the higher ph would be what is effecting the alk level decrease?  I would be surprised if the corals would start growing that fast within just a couple of days to have affected a drop in alk.  From everything I have seen in this hobby good things are slow to happen and bad things can happen in minutes. 
How do you post your apex charts?  I would like to share mine since I have opened the window in my sump room.
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #26 on: August 19, 2017, 08:42:08 »
What was your daily ml of dosing and what is it now with the bump up?
Prior to doing any of the open window/Scrubber testing I was dosing 50mL alk per day and 30mL Calc. It was stable and consistent. I am now up to 60mL alk and 50mL Calc. However, it's too soon to say that it is stable at these levels. I'd like to see what the tests are over the next week.

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #27 on: August 19, 2017, 08:53:01 »
I would have to question if the higher ph would be what is effecting the alk level decrease?  I would be surprised if the corals would start growing that fast within just a couple of days to have affected a drop in alk.  From everything I have seen in this hobby good things are slow to happen and bad things can happen in minutes. 
How do you post your apex charts?  I would like to share mine since I have opened the window in my sump room.
Jeff
It may not be the pH that is directly affecting it but the byproduct of more oxygen in the water column. With all other things the same in my setup, it's the only conclusion that makes sense. I believe they mention that in the BRS video. The higher pH instantly triggers greater consumption during the full power period of photosynthesis.

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #28 on: August 19, 2017, 11:17:15 »
Here is the link to the video I found when researching low pH. This has all the scientific evidence of the hydrogen exchange within the corals and how a higher pH makes it easier for the corals to grow.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #29 on: August 19, 2017, 23:25:31 »
It surprises me how fast the change in ph will effect the alk levels.  I have left my basement window open in my sump room for the past week and my ph hasnt dropped below 7.8 with daytime highs at 8.2-8.3.  I tested my alk tonight and it has plummeted clear down to 6.9  I had several frags of red dragon stn this week and that explains why.  come cooler weather I will probably have to look into a scrubber and maybe try and control it with a solenoid valve like what was done in the posted video.
Jeff

Offline Agame43

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #30 on: August 20, 2017, 00:01:22 »

Reeferentraining / JJoos99, great post - great conversation - following - we talked this topic briefly at Lazy's today !!!

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #31 on: August 20, 2017, 08:46:46 »
It surprises me how fast the change in ph will effect the alk levels.  I have left my basement window open in my sump room for the past week and my ph hasnt dropped below 7.8 with daytime highs at 8.2-8.3.  I tested my alk tonight and it has plummeted clear down to 6.9  I had several frags of red dragon stn this week and that explains why.  come cooler weather I will probably have to look into a scrubber and maybe try and control it with a solenoid valve like what was done in the posted video.
Jeff

I hope your frags find their way back.

My pH hasn't dropped below 7.8 either but I barely get over 8.2. So your doing great at 8.3. Do you dose heavy during the day? I've got my alk dose shutting off from 9am-12pm and dose Calc in that window.

Initially I was going to do the valve as well but knowing how often the house is completely shut, I decided on the BRS media to see how long it would last first.

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #32 on: August 20, 2017, 08:56:34 »
Reeferentraining / JJoos99, great post - great conversation - following - we talked this topic briefly at Lazy's today !!!
Rick, you were the instigator! Lol.

After seeing your tank and you pH levels vs. mine, I had to look into it....

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #33 on: August 20, 2017, 09:30:43 »
Does anyone know if co2 is a heavy gas and settles into the lower places of a home like your basement?  I have had my skimmer intake pulling air from outside for along time with no ph change.  I have a weeks worth of charting with the window open so now I will try closing the window and see what my chart will look like.
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #34 on: August 20, 2017, 09:44:28 »
That was a suggestion I read somewhere in my research. To run your skimmer line to the ceiling because CO2 is heavier and concentrates low.

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #35 on: August 20, 2017, 09:47:09 »
Also, be sure to adjust your dosing accordingly. I test every day just the see what the water chemistry is doing. Especially when I'm experimenting!

Offline Agame43

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #36 on: August 20, 2017, 10:22:21 »

  Jesse, you are kinda right, I got you interested in it through our conversation. I got thinking last night, why did I dig into it back then, well I just wanted to "lessen the 24hr pH swing" if you will. My pH would swing from 7.8/7.9 at night up to about 8.2 during the day, so I dug into it a bit and found this method of using the outside air. By adding the new air to my skimmer my daily swing lessened and my average pH cycle shifted to the higher side as well. My daily cycle now is about 8.17 to 8.35 or so, sometimes 8.45 on a good day. Interesting information.

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #37 on: August 20, 2017, 12:34:14 »
Rick, your numbers are fantastic and the beauty of your tank is a result of that, in my opinion. I am thankful to have seen it and that we discussed the pH. It pushed me into research.

Offline joelbegt

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #38 on: August 20, 2017, 17:02:56 »
Does anyone know if co2 is a heavy gas and settles into the lower places of a home like your basement?  I have had my skimmer intake pulling air from outside for along time with no ph change.  I have a weeks worth of charting with the window open so now I will try closing the window and see what my chart will look like.
Jeff

I'm not sure about its weight, but if you have a CO2 problem inside then surface agitation and fans etc will drive down ph worse from what I've read.  If you do implement a scrubber I would scrub the outside air so the media lasts longer.  I'm still planning my display, but I'm really considering using two skimmers rather than one to help pull in as much outside air as possible when the time comes

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #39 on: August 20, 2017, 19:38:33 »
Joel, that's a fantastic idea and would probably work even better. The reason I am only doing the Scrubber is because I really don't want to drill my house or window sill for the outside air. Just adding the Scrubber alone has made a massive difference in pH, polyp extension and alk and Calc consumption for me and I am good with that.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #40 on: August 21, 2017, 21:55:23 »
I closed my basement window last night and today my daily high ph compared to yesterday was .12 lower.  I will leave the window closed for a couple more days to confirm the lower ph.  Jesse let us know how long you get out of the co2 media?  The brs video says they are using $7 worth of media a week. 
Jeff

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #41 on: August 22, 2017, 20:47:06 »
I closed my basement window last night and today my daily high ph compared to yesterday was .12 lower.  I will leave the window closed for a couple more days to confirm the lower ph.  Jesse let us know how long you get out of the co2 media?  The brs video says they are using $7 worth of media a week. 
Jeff
Ok so this is where I am at now. I've had to bump my alk up a total of 40mL and my Calc up 60mL since I started this experiment. That is double what my consumption was before starting this journey. What I have also noticed is that once the media become spent at the bottom of the "reactor", I've only got half the reactor usable and I believe it's allowing CO2 through and into the skimmer. It has only been a week. So, at this pace it would be $7-$10 to maintain the BRS media. That is a little steep. Also, since the pH is slowly creeping down, I am going to have to slowly bring my dosing down in order to use up all the media. This is unfortunate and too much micro-managing. So my solution is this.... I just purchased 2 of the BRS scrubbers/reactors. I am going to fill one canister, initially, and then wait for it to start changing color. Once the color change starts, I am going to daisy chain the second one to it with new media. Keeping the partially spent reactor at the front of the air intake. So, any CO2 that gets past the partially spent media will then go thru the fresh media, eliminating all CO2. And then weekly, if necessary, I will discard the spent media, move the partially spent media to the front and fill and reattach the second reactor. This should eliminate the pH swing I am getting now. I also don't believe the expensive BRS media is any better than any other soda lime cuz it only lasted a week. So next time I am going to get the $27 media from another vendor and see how long it lasts.

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #42 on: August 22, 2017, 22:02:19 »
I had to open the window tonight.  The tank had a low of 7.6 this mourning and a high of 7.96  I clearly have a co2 problem in the basement.  i will have to do some research on ventilation systems for basements.  I would like to not have to go the route of doing a co2 scrubber if I dont need to. 
Jeff

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #43 on: August 23, 2017, 21:30:38 »
24 hours later with the window open my ph went from 8.0 to right now at 8.41  Hard to believe the difference.
Jeff

Offline Agame43

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #44 on: August 26, 2017, 22:45:16 »

  pH chart for a Saturday evening, basement window open and skimmer on fresh air all day.

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #45 on: August 27, 2017, 14:05:33 »
You're ridiculous Rick
I've been keeping my window open waiting for the new scrubber containers. My numbers are close to that, but you still have me beat. On a side note my consumption has went from 50mL soda ash to 110mL to maintain my alk over 9.0 since I started the pH experiment!

Offline lazylivin

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #46 on: August 27, 2017, 20:46:06 »
That is pretry incredible! 50% increase in growth. Nice!

Offline SweetReefOH

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #47 on: August 27, 2017, 21:06:53 »
I'm literally seeing daily growth on a few corals. The most notable is your mint green Mille that I almost lost. It looks incredible!

Offline CoralBeauties

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #48 on: September 17, 2017, 21:52:19 »
I thought I would share how I was able to get rid of the co2 that was in my basement. I had a small blower at work that wasn't being used so I put it to good use.  I believe it was for a radon system. I installed it down on the floor and ran some pipe up and out my basement window.  I cut a piece of wood the same size of the window and ran the pipe outside. Since running the fan my pH has not dropped below 7.9 and an average high of 8.25.  Before the fan I was getting lows of 7.69 and highs about 7.9 This has been wonderful for my tank and has helped out with basement odor.
Jeff

Offline lazylivin

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Re: Homemade CO2 Scrubber
« Reply #49 on: September 17, 2017, 22:38:26 »
 Thanks for sharing Jeff that's a pretty cool solution you have there. I wonder if  you ran the fan at window level not having the extension tube would you get similar results?  Also would you get better results if you brought air in from outside?  Would there be any drawback to that?

 

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