Kessil

For those that use CO2 media -what are you using and where are you purchasing it from

L

L/B Block

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So I have been using soda lime from Jorvis-I think of all the brands I have used -BRS, ice cap, and Jorvis-Jorvis has been most effective-issue now is cost-either in actual supply or shipping -that is to purchase two 3 lb bags of Jorvis soda lime -


$16.xx but $26 in ground shipping from Jorvis! ~$42
$28.xx from a vet supply &10 in shipping -$38
$48.xx from Amazon!!! Prime member so no shipping cost but WTF on price

Where people buying theirs from and what brand -and cost?

If I buy the 5 gallon -how long can I store it for in the container that it comes. That could last me 2-3 years but I don’t know if it goes “bad” over time.

TIA
 
L/B Block said:
So I have been using soda lime from Jorvis-I think of all the brands I have used -BRS, ice cap, and Jorvis-Jorvis has been most effective-issue now is cost-either in actual supply or shipping -that is to purchase two 3 lb bags of Jorvis soda lime -


$16.xx but $26 in ground shipping from Jorvis! ~$42
$28.xx from a vet supply &10 in shipping -$38
$48.xx from Amazon!!! Prime member so no shipping cost but WTF on price

Where people buying theirs from and what brand -and cost?

If I buy the 5 gallon -how long can I store it for in the container that it comes. That could last me 2-3 years but I don’t know if it goes “bad” over time.

TIA
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I bought the MedVet 5 gallon jug of soda lime recently. The bucket it comes in is airtight and has a twist-off cap on the spout.

Regarding it "going bad", my two cents: the only CO2 getting in there is the minimal amount of gas exchange that occurs when you open the jug, pour your media out, and then replace the cap. The media will absorb any CO2 in the air that gets in there during that time period, but that should be minimal. I think it should stay good as long as you keep the cap on.
 
L/B Block said:
So I have been using soda lime from Jorvis-I think of all the brands I have used -BRS, ice cap, and Jorvis-Jorvis has been most effective-issue now is cost-either in actual supply or shipping -that is to purchase two 3 lb bags of Jorvis soda lime -


$16.xx but $26 in ground shipping from Jorvis! ~$42
$28.xx from a vet supply &10 in shipping -$38
$48.xx from Amazon!!! Prime member so no shipping cost but WTF on price

Where people buying theirs from and what brand -and cost?

If I buy the 5 gallon -how long can I store it for in the container that it comes. That could last me 2-3 years but I don’t know if it goes “bad” over time.

TIA
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What size or Jorvet are you paying $48 for on Amazon?

I only see 3 lbs bags for $24.99 and 5 Gallons for $134.99.

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CaseyP said:
How long does a pound last for you guys? Still debating on setting up a co2 scrubber but part of me hates adding on yet another recurring cost.
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I think my last 3 lb bag lasted almost a year-but I only have a 64 gallon tank. So many other variables at play. How big is your tank?
 
CaseyP said:
How long does a pound last for you guys? Still debating on setting up a co2 scrubber but part of me hates adding on yet another recurring cost.
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The recirculating scrubber should minimize the cost and maximize the impact. Given the impact of PH and it's cost vs e.g. the cost of lights, the cost for CO2 media should be still a good investment.
 
I used CO2 media for a while. Worked well but felt wasteful to me, and was another maintenance chore. I used the veterinary brand and seller mentioned above. But when I started using calcium hydroxide (Kalkwasser for the German speakers) it brought my pH up to target levels without the CO2 scrubbing.

For those considering the skimmer recirculation option- this requires caution because if you let your skimmer cup get full or skimmer overflow and water gets sucked into the CO2 media and then gets back to the tank, it can cause a tank wipe out. Not that anyone has ever fallen behind on skimmer maintenance :) This risk was too much for me so when I used it, I did NOT do the recirculation method.
 
JVU said:
For those considering the skimmer recirculation option- this requires caution because if you let your skimmer cup get full or skimmer overflow and water gets sucked into the CO2 media and then gets back to the tank, it can cause a tank wipe out. Not that anyone has ever fallen behind on skimmer maintenance :) This risk was too much for me so when I used it, I did NOT do the recirculation method.
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Pull air from the top of an ATO (that has a lid) or an external fuge with a lid that way you don’t have to worry about skimmate in the airline. It’s the humidity that helps the media work better as it increases the penetration of co2 into the middle of the media.
 
RandyC said:
Pull air from the top of an ATO (that has a lid) or an external fuge with a lid that way you don’t have to worry about skimmate in the airline. It’s the humidity that helps the media work better as it increases the penetration of co2 into the middle of the media.
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That’s a good idea. I was sort of doing that, I was pulling from the air in a small cabinet in the garage where I also keep my ATO reservoir so it’s always humid.

I think another reason some people pull air from the skimmer is so that you are pulling air in CO2 equilibrium with your CO2-depleted tank vs ambient air (which would usually have more CO2). Starting with air that has less CO2 in it means less media used to remove the CO2. That wasn’t a compelling reason for me, but that’s my understanding of people’s reasoning.
 
JVU said:
That’s a good idea. I was sort of doing that, I was pulling from the air in a small cabinet in the garage where I also keep my ATO reservoir so it’s always humid.

I think another reason some people pull air from the skimmer is so that you are pulling air in CO2 equilibrium with your CO2-depleted tank vs ambient air (which would usually have more CO2). Starting with air that has less CO2 in it means less media used to remove the CO2. That wasn’t a compelling reason for me, but that’s my understanding of people’s reasoning.
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I never bought into that reasoning. Let’s assume you don’t reach a somewhat equilibrium with outside the skimmer air (there’s still holes in the lid) and the skimmer cup remains somewhat isolated from the outside skimmer air, you’re going to be constantly pumping co2 into that skimmate cup until an equilibrium is reached with the tank co2 level which will be a higher level of co2 anyway.
 
So I am bit confused but also intrigued by the concerns or comments, since you guys know a lot and I do not. So a few comments to what John and Randy commented:

1. I wanted to stop using Kalkwasser / calcium hydroxide and needed to offset the PH impact. Is not using Kalkwasser a good idea, that is part for a separate discussion. The PH impact from my current setup with a still rising 7 day PH average of now 8.33 (0.1-0.2 higher) outperforms the previous Kalkwasser method for my tank. Of course this only matters if chasing PH is your objective. It is mine :).

2. The skimmer overflow scenario is very interesting, as I am not able to see in my setup how this can lead to a problem, but there are setups where this might be very well true. I am adding the drawing from the setup and it would be great to hear what needed to happen for this risk to materialize. Also, the skimmer has a shut-off valve if it overflows and a drain (which I am not using at the moment). Still, it was helpful as it made look at the setup differently, and I can see that if the simmer cup overflows (shut off valve not functioning), then floods the scrubber entirely, then the liquid from the flooded scrubber goes against the gravity (drawing is different from how I have it) into the silencer and back into the tank, that this would be not good or rather devasting.

3. The wastefulness of the media is another good point. It is still too early for me to determine how long the media lasts, and I hope with the recirculating setup its viability will be significantly extended.

4. The ATO intake would be a bit complex for me to setup because the hose is rather thick, but it would reduce the main painpoint which is that some skimmate enters the scrubber, and I do have to empty the water from the scrubber every 3 days, and would need to deep clean the scrubber when the media is due for replacement, whenever this is.

5. The two benefits from the recirculation is the high humidity that goes into the scrubber (can be offset with the ATO method), but also the assumption that lower CO2 rich air enters the scrubber requiring less effort by the scrubber media (at least this is my basic understanding).

6. In this setup, the skimmer lid does not have holes, it is completely closed. Which has additional benefit for the ozone (which will be a separate post).

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I never had a catastrophe with this, so my concerns are theoretical. It’s not uncommon for me to have skimmate flowing past or filling up the space where the air intake is, which could lead to it getting sucked up. If you’ve ever had skimmate bubble out the top holes, that’s a guarantee of it going in. Once it’s going in, just a matter of rate and time before some frothy stuff gets sucked back into your tank from the top. To me is seems an unacceptable risk, especially since the benefit is minimal to none compared with just having your air intake come in from the garage or outdoors, where CO2 is likely lower than in your tank anyway.

Or you can get the same benefit by just having your intake tube in your closed sump cabinet, mounted up no where near the water. ~100% humidity, and CO2 level equilibrated to what’s in your tank. I think the recirculating skimmer/CO2 thing is a gimmick.
 
JVU said:
I never had a catastrophe with this, so my concerns are theoretical. It’s not uncommon for me to have skimmate flowing past or filling up the space where the air intake is, which could lead to it getting sucked up. If you’ve ever had skimmate bubble out the top holes, that’s a guarantee of it going in. Once it’s going in, just a matter of rate and time before some frothy stuff gets sucked back into your tank from the top. To me is seems an unacceptable risk, especially since the benefit is minimal to none compared with just having your air intake come in from the garage or outdoors, where CO2 is likely lower than in your tank anyway.

Or you can get the same benefit by just having your intake tube in your closed sump cabinet, mounted up no where near the water. ~100% humidity, and CO2 level equilibrated to what’s in your tank. I think the recirculating skimmer/CO2 thing is a gimmick.
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I am still not clear on the issue with it coming back into the skimmer, but maybe it is just a different design I have (picture)? Unfortunately, I cannot have my air intake coming from outside, but agreed, I would try this first before using the recirculation or a CO2 scrubber in general. If the airline comes from outside, I would only want to make sure no one is spraying stuff etc, which I believe the person who does our plants etc does spray things. I will look into the air intake from the sump and compare the results, my sump is not in a closed cabinet so not sure if this will be as effective.

IMG_6506.jpeg
 
Alexander1312 said:
I am still not clear on the issue with it coming back into the skimmer, but maybe it is just a different design I have (picture)? Unfortunately, I cannot have my air intake coming from outside, but agreed, I would try this first before using the recirculation or a CO2 scrubber in general. If the airline comes from outside, I would only want to make sure no one is spraying stuff etc, which I believe the person who does our plants etc does spray things. I will look into the air intake from the sump and compare the results, my sump is not in a closed cabinet so not sure if this will be as effective.

View attachment 55936
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Sometimes you can have really frothy skimmate and in those cases, the bubbles and anything stuck to the bubbles can get sucked into the scrubber intake.

not all skimmers have float switches that turn off the skimmer if the collection cup is full, in those cases can liquid skimmate can be sucked into. Even worse is if the scrubber intake is not located at the very top of the collection cup.

You can see how I implement the air intake out of my external fuge in this post. I made it cleaner and added some elbows and mounted underneath the shelf so it’s cleaner now, but you get the idea.

Post in thread 'Randy’s Innovative Marine 75 Ext'
https://www.bareefers.org/forum/threads/randy’s-innovative-marine-75-ext.32907/post-488514
 
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