Co2 scrubber recirculating air
- Thread starter ofzakaria
- Start date
rygh
Guest
So my Rev-1 test had lots of problems with air flow restrictions. Skimmer kept stopping with an error.
My Rev-2 plan, sort-of in progress:
Use TWO canisters, in parallel.
Have a short tube to the skimmer intake, and TEE off that quickly to the dual canisters.
For that TEE, connect to the OUTSIDE of the skimmer tube, not a barb fitting inside. A pain, but those barb fittings have a tiny ID.
Then build a cap that loosely fits over the skimmer top. With two tubes coming out going to the canisters.
Because the cap is on top vertically, it cannot possibly fill with water, since water would plug skimmer holes.
Plus I would put the canisters above the skimmer anyway.
I am not really sure that cup idea you have does more than delay the problem.
When skimmer goes nuts, seems like that would fill up quickly as well.
A possible but risky test: Add a small dose of Chemiclean, see what happens.
My Rev-2 plan, sort-of in progress:
Use TWO canisters, in parallel.
Have a short tube to the skimmer intake, and TEE off that quickly to the dual canisters.
For that TEE, connect to the OUTSIDE of the skimmer tube, not a barb fitting inside. A pain, but those barb fittings have a tiny ID.
Then build a cap that loosely fits over the skimmer top. With two tubes coming out going to the canisters.
Because the cap is on top vertically, it cannot possibly fill with water, since water would plug skimmer holes.
Plus I would put the canisters above the skimmer anyway.
I am not really sure that cup idea you have does more than delay the problem.
When skimmer goes nuts, seems like that would fill up quickly as well.
A possible but risky test: Add a small dose of Chemiclean, see what happens.
ofzakaria
Guest
I use an external waste collector that have a built in float and shut off the skimmer if get full..
I feel it's more convenient since its bigger capacity than the skimmer cup so my maintenance is easier.
This is what I use. I also have a line insode connected to a tom aqua lifter yo empty it during maintenance
Reef Octopus Waste Collector https://g.co/kgs/K2E8hB
Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
Flagg37
Guest
couple thoughts on the subject.
Fresh air from out side should be as good or even better than air from inside going through a scrubber. Fresh air has about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, and the last percent has all the other miscellaneous gasses (co2 is about .1%). I’m not sure how high co2 levels can go indoors but it’s enough to make a difference to our tanks. Can a scrubber bring the concentration down to below 0.1% though?
Also, co2 isn’t good for pH but macro algae uses it for photosynthesis. How many of you with co2 scrubbers have fuges? How well do they grow macro? One of the advantages to the macro algae is that it not only absorbs the co2 (like the scrubber) but it additionally converts it to o2.
Lastly, I’m not too sure how much methane gas is being produced in the skimmer. The idea of the skimmer is that it will remove the nutrients from the water column before it has the chance to decompose. I suppose once it’s in the cup it could be but didn’t you say that you have an external waste collector? So in your situation there shouldn’t be any way for the decomposition gasses to pass through the scrubber and back to the tank.
Fresh air from out side should be as good or even better than air from inside going through a scrubber. Fresh air has about 78% nitrogen, 21% oxygen, 1% argon, and the last percent has all the other miscellaneous gasses (co2 is about .1%). I’m not sure how high co2 levels can go indoors but it’s enough to make a difference to our tanks. Can a scrubber bring the concentration down to below 0.1% though?
Also, co2 isn’t good for pH but macro algae uses it for photosynthesis. How many of you with co2 scrubbers have fuges? How well do they grow macro? One of the advantages to the macro algae is that it not only absorbs the co2 (like the scrubber) but it additionally converts it to o2.
Lastly, I’m not too sure how much methane gas is being produced in the skimmer. The idea of the skimmer is that it will remove the nutrients from the water column before it has the chance to decompose. I suppose once it’s in the cup it could be but didn’t you say that you have an external waste collector? So in your situation there shouldn’t be any way for the decomposition gasses to pass through the scrubber and back to the tank.
rygh
Guest
Physics time 
KEY: The rate of diffusion is a function of the gradient in concentration.
It is not a function over overall content, but of the difference.
So lets say normal air is 400ppm CO2 (0.04%)
Lets say your tank is up around 500 ppm.
Gradient then would be 500/400 = 1.25
But instead, lets say your CO2 scrubber pulled the ppm down to 50ppm.
Gradient then would be 500/50 = 10.0
So that means it diffuses 8X faster.
SORT OF
There are actually a whole lot of other factors, and the low concentration in general does matter.
But you get the idea.
---
As far as other things, remember that a ton of gas exchange is done through the surface of the water.
So the methane/etc should end up there.
KEY: The rate of diffusion is a function of the gradient in concentration.
It is not a function over overall content, but of the difference.
So lets say normal air is 400ppm CO2 (0.04%)
Lets say your tank is up around 500 ppm.
Gradient then would be 500/400 = 1.25
But instead, lets say your CO2 scrubber pulled the ppm down to 50ppm.
Gradient then would be 500/50 = 10.0
So that means it diffuses 8X faster.
SORT OF
There are actually a whole lot of other factors, and the low concentration in general does matter.
But you get the idea.
---
As far as other things, remember that a ton of gas exchange is done through the surface of the water.
So the methane/etc should end up there.
The_Lazy_Reefer
Supporting Member
My fuge has actually been a lot healthier with much more snail breeding going on since keeping the ph higher with my scrubber. I’ve yet to see really see a downside besides the cost of media which in the grand scheme of reefing is a drop in the bucket
The_Lazy_Reefer
Supporting Member
Not a chemist but in my laymen’s terms scrubber good no scrubber decent enough
The_Lazy_Reefer
Supporting Member
The_Lazy_Reefer
Supporting Member
Same here. Alk/CA consumption doubled and the corals are growing at a noticeable rate now.
