CO2 Scrubber/Adding outside air to the tank (1 Viewer)

[BlindSwordsman]

I saw the CO2 scrubber subject mentioned on @Jonty's thread. I don't want to hijack his thread so I'm opening a new one. I don't follow the new trends very well so I was wondering what it was. I searched around and found that it's a way of increasing the tank's pH? Either by running a CO2 scrubber or by doing the alternative, which is feeding the tank with outside air. I don't think of the 'scientific' view of things usually, but with my simple, watered down view, feeding the tank with 'fresh air' seems to be a fine idea . But personally, I also see the issue with running a CO2 scrubber is the cost, and the issue with feeding the tank with outside air is the low temperature in the winter and the high temperature in summer. I suppose I could find a way to run a line to get the outside air to my tank. But I'm wondering if anybody actually does this and see a real significant difference by doing so? (EDIT: And what I mean by this is: Do you think you see your corals grow faster? Do they appear happier? Etc. Because what I've read so far is what people talk about their 'pH' level and their 'numbers'. And I saw some guy on youTube talked about his CO2 scrubber, etc, but his tank, with all of the extra gadgets, was not something I would die for .) I suppose it depends on the environment as well anyway!??

 

[reef junkie]

I went the Co2 scrubber route because I could not easily run a fresh air line to the outside for my tank also it was a fairy cheap investment and easy to add to my system. I feel having this more stable PH level as well as seeing a little increase in my Ph im seeing or believe im seeing much faster growth then ive ever seen in any previous tank Ive had over the years. Now with that being said I love to tinker with my tank, upgrade, change and mostly just stay involved in the system. These little tinkering option are fun to do. If it wasn’t for this addiction LOL I probable would have not add it or even considered it if I was not seeing anything I wanted to correct in my tank. My most favorite tank of all time was a stripped down 33 Long that had a hang on back filter and received weekly water changes with very little tech. But times have changed, tech has gotten better and now we as hobbyists can squeeze every little tiny detail we can think up to either make us think or actually do make are tanks that much better then we were.

 

[spsick]

I ran a line from outside to my skimmer. It helped quite a bit with my average high and low pH, and especially helped with the wild swings based on how many people were home and if the windows were open etc. Since out toddler started walking the gains in pH have been negated but still have the stability. I also changed to a DC skimmer from my old Bubble King and I think the new skimmer pulls less air with a 30ft run of hose so that could be part of ir.

I’m now looking into adding a ERV unit to our HVAC as I know our co2 levels in the home are high as the cost of this vs a jumbo double chamber co2 scrubber and a years worth of media will probably compare in cost.

 

[reef junkie]

I ran a line from outside to my skimmer. It helped quite a bit with my average high and low pH, and especially helped with the wild swings based on how many people were home and if the windows were open etc. Since out toddler started walking the gains in pH have been negated but still have the stability. I also changed to a DC skimmer from my old Bubble King and I think the new skimmer pulls less air with a 30ft run of hose so that could be part of ir.

I’m now looking into adding a ERV unit to our HVAC as I know our co2 levels in the home are high as the cost of this vs a jumbo double chamber co2 scrubber and a years worth of media will probably compare in cost.

Ben have you done an energy audit on your home. Xcel used to do it for free or as a rebate back to your energy account. Older homes are not a sealed tight as todays homes. Im no expert in this field, but its to my understanding that an older home could leak enough air into the home through windows and walls etc, that when hvac fan is running enough make up air could be leaking into the home and doing this exchange already. A blower test would be able to tell how sealed the home actually is and if an air to air would help.

 

[spsick]

Ben have you done an energy audit on your home. Xcel used to do it for free or as a rebate back to your energy account. Older homes are not a sealed tight as todays homes. Im no expert in this field, but its to my understanding that an older home could leak enough air into the home through windows and walls etc, that when hvac fan is running enough make up air could be leaking into the home and doing this exchange already. A blower test would be able to tell how sealed the home actually is and if an air to air would help.

I have not. It’s an old house with mostly original windows so I know it’s leaky to an extent, but I tested the air at various times and out co2 levels are pretty high (1000+ in the bedroom at night) so we clearly need to get some positive pressure to help.

 

[Jonty]

It depends on how your tank's PH is running and if you feel it is in the right range for what you want to do, I like a PH of 8.4 in my tanks and the only way I can get there consistently is with the CO2 scrubber (I do not want to dose Kalk) Fresh air did not help me much as the CO2 levels in my office are never very high ( unless I have a bunch of reefers over ).

 

[Mathew0]

What do you guys do to protect the outside line? Do you put a little filter box around it, or something? I can’t imagine leaving an open hole in the house. What do you do about pest spray, etc?

 

[spsick]

What do you guys do to protect the outside line? Do you put a little filter box around it, or something? I can’t imagine leaving an open hole in the house. What do you do about pest spray, etc?

I just put a bulkhead screen on mine with hard PVC where it goes through the wall. I made an inline canister out of 2” pvc with some filter floss and carbon but I never got around to putting it in 2 years later. No worries about pest spray in Minneapolis though because we’re all hippy tree huggers.

 

[Mathew0]

We have a pest control company come around quarterly. Floss and activated carbon for air filters would be a great fix, tho

 

[Ben Nicholls]

Mine runs into the attached garage rather than directly outside. I have not had any pest issues with an open line.

 

[BlindSwordsman]

For the ones who connect the outside air to your tanks: Is there a significant change in temperature that you notice? ... I'm afraid of pulling the cold air in the winter to the tank (which will connect to my skimmer if I do) will cause a drop in the tank temperature in the winter time and in reverse, an increase in the summer time .

 

[spsick]

I have not seen any change in temp, and I only run 2x 100w heaters in tandem on a 75g tank. My tank is T5 so some heater and still my cooling fan only runs once a day around 3pm for a while in the summer and I run my thermostat at 74. In the dead of winter my second heater kicks on regularly but tank never dips below 77.


That being said my hose is a pretty long run so the air may temper a bit by the time it gets there.

 

[BlindSwordsman]

I have not seen any change in temp, and I only run 2x 100w heaters in tandem on a 75g tank. My tank is T5 so some heater and still my cooling fan only runs once a day around 3pm for a while in the summer and I run my thermostat at 74. In the dead of winter my second heater kicks on regularly but tank never dips below 77.


That being said my hose is a pretty long run so the air may temper a bit by the time it gets there.

I'm having a headache at the moment and my mind is on something else too, so my brain is a bit fried right now. But I think I remember there was some thinking that a long air line might not be effective for this arrangement to work as planned???

 

[spsick]

It will make the skimmer pull less air, so I went with 1/2” tubing to minimize resistance. Bigger the better.

 

[H2OHOH]

What kind of vertical and horizontal distance are productive for a fres air intake?

So if I ran one I would have about 8 ft vertical rise and 12ft horizontal on the tube. Is that too much?

 

[Ben Nicholls]

As long as the air line is larger than the final skimmer intake I don't think a long run would have much effect.

 

[spsick]

What kind of vertical and horizontal distance are productive for a fres air intake?

So if I ran one I would have about 8 ft vertical rise and 12ft horizontal on the tube. Is that too much?

Mine is going 30 feet and I’m on the second skimmer that it hasn’t made a function difference in the skimmers performance.

 

[H2OHOH]

Mine is going 30 feet and I’m on the second skimmer that it hasn’t made a function difference in the skimmers performance.

Meaning ph has not gone up?

 

[spsick]

Meaning ph has not gone up?

No, meaning skimmer perfomance wasnt impacted negatively from adding the long run of hose to the intake.

 

[H2OHOH]

No, meaning skimmer perfomance wasnt impacted negatively from adding the long run of hose to the intake.

How was impact to ph