CO2 Scrubber (1 Viewer)

[emixa]

Good evening all,

As many reefers come into the issue of their pH being too low, many is the same. So many have gone to adding a Co2 scrubber utilizing a reactor, some sodalime and a hose. Plugging straight into the skimmer air intake. The issue I am running into is that I run a Lifereef skimmer so the air intake hooks directly into the collection cup. The skimmer is a beast.

So when asking the manufacturer about possibly connecting a Tee in the middle of the line, he didnt have a problem unless I connected an air pump the the input of air into the reactor....easy.....not really.

So my question is if there is anyone else who is running this same design. If so, i an super interested in seeing this. Oh and for the others, I wish i could run a hose to the outside of my house, but i cant.

Also, is there another method for running a C02 scrubber without using the skimmer?

Thanks for reading.

 

[webster1234]

I don't have a Lifereef skimmer (ReefOctopus for me) but I am interested in how yours works and why you would need an additional air pump? Can you post some detailed pictures of yours and explain how it works?

Mine has a line going from the collection cup back to the air intake but it looked to me like it was an emergency drain in case the collection cup overflowed. It would just feed back into the air intake. It also has a port where it pulls outside air though. I connected my scrubber to the hose from the collection cup and then made the overflow on the cup where it would dump back into the sump if it overflowed.

Does yours pull 100% of the air through the collection cup? Does it have a needlewheel pump that makes the air bubbles? Why the need for an additional air pump?

 

[emixa]

I don't have a Lifereef skimmer (ReefOctopus for me) but I am interested in how yours works and why you would need an additional air pump? Can you post some detailed pictures of yours and explain how it works?

Mine has a line going from the collection cup back to the air intake but it looked to me like it was an emergency drain in case the collection cup overflowed. It would just feed back into the air intake. It also has a port where it pulls outside air though. I connected my scrubber to the hose from the collection cup and then made the overflow on the cup where it would dump back into the sump if it overflowed.

Does yours pull 100% of the air through the collection cup? Does it have a needlewheel pump that makes the air bubbles? Why the need for an additional air pump?

Thanks for responding. To answer your question about why the need for a air-pump, I was told that if I tee it off in between, the amount of air pulled it will not be enough to allow the venturi system to work. It was advised to add an additional air pump. Not sure how though.

 

[webster1234]

So is your collection cup area sealed where it creates a negative pressure environment to help "pull" the foam up into the collection cup? That is the only thing that makes sense. Sounds like they are suggesting that a "T" in line would reduce the suction in the collection area and not allow as much foam to be pulled in.

My collection cup has holes on the top of the lid so I am confident the hose from mine is strictly for overflow.

 

[emixa]

So my lid does not have holes. I was told that if I want to run the skimmer with the scrubber, it's best to run direct and not tee off. But doing this cause me to loose the self cleaning function.

If I tee off, then the skimmer needing the pressure , will not function to capacity, hence why I would need to add the air pump.

 

[webster1234]

Sorry for all the questions. So you are saying the skimmer reuses or recirculates its own air and doesn't pull any from outside? If that is the case, how does it oxygenate the water?

 

[emixa]

No worries on the questions, it helps me learn as, well.

That's a good question. I guess that it pulls it from the water itself. Installation instructions states that it runs better at a certain height out of the water. So mine meets that requirement. The output allows the water to cause air and water turbulence. Make sense? I will ask the manufacturer about this. Curious now.

 

[Birdman]

if you have a lifereef skimmer you should have a hole on the lid. the line running to the collection is in case the over flows thus sucking in water stoping it from over flowing. I have tee in mine running ozone you can use air pump if you want. it might suck enough air, without pump though.

 

[emixa]

Birdman, I didn't notice one but will definitely check I will try it.

 

[webster1234]

I agree with birdman. I has to be pulling air from the outside. Otherwise, it wouldn't be oxygenating your water, which is what they do in addition to skimming. I can't see where you would need an extra pump if it doesn't depend on a negative pressure to pull the skimmate up. If you put a T in the line, it seems it would just passively pull some air through the scrubber. I have a T in mine. I estimate it pulls 30-40% of the air through the scrubber and the rest from the house.

 

[steveb]

I thought this was why the tube ran from the skimmer cup to the venturi.. from lifereef website.. I also can see that in the case of a full cup effluent would indeed get sucked into the venturi thus killing the foaming action...

NO SALT-CLOGGED VENTURI, or injector nozzles, Lifereef skimmers utilize a self-cleaning venturi system.

Elton I cannot imagine putting a T in the line between the skimmer cup and the venturi is going to reduce performance... as a matter of fact I got hits to that effect on a Reef Central search...

It might cause you to have to clean your venuri more often since you would be losing some of the moist air...

Could you run a line from skimmer cup to reactor and then from reactor to venturi?
Could you run a line from skimmer cup lid to reactor (I am assuming air is being pulled into skimmer cup here?), maybe enlarge that hole to 1/2" and run a large line... and leave line from cup to venturi?

 

[phhoth]

Had the same problems like many others...Low ph. I used reef crystals, then switched to Red Sea Coral Pro salt with the same problem. Could not hook a scrubber to my nano skimmer and used an air pump instead. . In the long run this did not change much either. Not only did I have the low ph problem but my calcium and alkalinity were off also and buying sodalime was just adding extra cost with very little benefit. Just before giving up I found some threads and reviews for Kent Reef Salt Mix claiming that the Ph is @ 8.3, Calcium @ 460 and Alkalinity stable. Needing more Salt , I went ahead and ordered some.
I WILL NEVER GO BACK TO ANY OTHER SALT!!!!. My PH is @ 8.3, Calcium @ 450 ( after several measurements still the same). By the way this stuff mixes clear, just for a couple minutes do I have cloudy water. Check out the review for this product.....I'll swear by it!!

 

[emixa]

So confirmed on the hole on the lid.

I might do what Steve suggested. The line from my collection cup, I will try to run that to the reactor direct, then the output of the reactor, to the venturi side. It should do the same principle?

 

[Diesel]

OH BOY!!

 

[emixa]

OH BOY!!

Talk to me on great one. Your thoughts?

 

[Diesel]

Talk to me on great one. Your thoughts?

Done and fixed

 

[emixa]

Thank you again for the great advice.

 

[steveb]

So what is the solution?

 

[PSXerholic]

Emixa,

I have used the Co2 scrubber straight into the air inlet on my Lifereef skimmer.

The thing is the recirculating air line re-uses the air from the skimmer and injects it back in.
This is suppose to prevent saltcreep in the venture and avoids a smelly skimmer.
Works great.

However, if you want to keep the smell free skimmer with recirculating air, you need to tie in with a T and pump scrubbed air into the loop.
That way you push co2 scrubbed air into the air inlet to the venturi.

I just unhooked the recirc line and put the scrubber straight in to the air inlet so the skimmer sucks the air in and does not need an airpump.

That's it.

Read this thread I made a while ago, with DIESEL approved Soda lime media brand ;-)

http://www.marsh-reef.org/my-diy-projects/48590-low-cost-co2-absorber-alternative-increase-ph.html

-Andre

 

[emixa]

So what is the solution?

Steve,

Sorry for not responding quicker. So after discussion with Ben, i am going to disconnect the hose from the collection box to the venturi side. The hose leaving the collection will be connected to the scrubber inlet. The outlet from the scrubber will be connected into the venturi port on the skimmer itself. No need for Tee-ing or air pump. It should not take away from the principle of capturing the full air suction from the small hole on the lid.

we will try this out.