I have been struggling with keeping my ph above 8.10 and dropping to 7.8 at night even with a co2 scrubber. Tried this over the weekend and my ph at night has not dropped below 8.10 and has been around 8.25 during these last two days! Thank you for the video!
Perfect timing as I just installed a CO2 scrubber on my tank after having it for in the garage for months. Going to add this recirculating mod to increase efficiency
Great stuff guys. This is the only way to do it in my opinion, big savings on media. To combat pH being too high I run a T piece in the hose coming out of the top of the skimmer. After the split I have a tap on both hoses. I feed one hose into the scrubber and the other back into the line after the scrubber. In simpler terms I have a bypass that excludes the scrubber. I can then use the taps to regulate the amount of recirculated air being scrubbed and how much just feeds from the skimate immediately back into the skimmer. Extends the life of the co2 sorbant and allows fine tuning of the airflow and co2 scrubbing. Few days of tweaking and you'll have it pretty stable where you want it just by adjusting the two taps to regulate the air flow. Am additional T piece and tap you can also regulate the amount of fresh air feeding in. You can raise and lower your pH with the turn of a couple taps... adjustability at the cost of just a couple of dollars. Hope that makes sense.
Wouldn't it be best to put the bypass valve AFTER the scrubber? That way the media should last longer, but you could still throttle down the effect a bit.
had the co2 scrubber installed before. just didn't do anything at all. I tried from the room and reciculating the air from the tank to skimmer to co2 scrubber and back to tank and no results. went back and thought path of least resistance. I looked at scrubber any holes or anything and then the skimmer. the lid has air holes. so I took electrical tape to cove the holes up in the lid. I saw a drop of ph from 7.88 to 7.82 overnight. which was promising. it would normally drop from 7.88 to 7.6 and then back up to 7.7 and the next night down to 7.5. and etc. but last night was a major win. so far today it is already up to 7.88 for the PH. I don't think it will hit 8.1 or above but if it's stable at 7.8 to 8 ppm for ph. i think it's a win...
One question I would have doing this method is - would this not restrict the amount of oxygen that runs through the skimmer, meaning the water isn't oxygenated as much as drawing new air in
Assuming you have enough water circulating at the surface of the tank you'll have enough oxygen dissolving and introducing that way, not to mention the natural photosynthesis by corals or macro algae.
would drilling the lid of the skimmer cup be neccasary. what about using the skimmer cup over flow instead of the ckimmer cup lid for recycling. yes you might get alot of moisture. but with the skimmer overflow hose to the scrubber and then the scrubber air out take to the air intake of the skimmer. would that still save the medai to the co2 skimmer also. I have the eshopps HOB skimmer. don't remember the model number but rated for tanks up to 100 gallons. I used to have over flows like you wouldn't believe but got a hold of the smart skimmer (i think thats what its called) and never had another flood in my house from the tank again. so it's just being wasted. ut using that to the co2 scrubber to draw air in. then to the air intake to skimmer from scrubber wouldn't that have the same results?
I ordered one of these up from you guys today. Wondering would hooking the air intake up to a fresh airline from the outside instead of recirculating be worth it? I don’t know how much CO2 outside air has but wouldn’t it be very minimal compared to the inside air? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about foam in the cup getting sucked into the media. It seems like you could get extremely oxygen rich air doing it this way.
If you can, running an airline outside is the best option. This will not only bring in low CO2 outside air, but you won't have the ongoing maintenance and expense of changing media.
Is there a recommended bulkhead or some kind of insert to use when drilling the hole in the lid or just a tight fit with the 3/8 tubing is fine?? I was thinking about reducing to ro tubing with a murlock bulkhead? Any thoughts
I like the concept but I have always pulled fresh air in from outside the house into the skimmer to produce stable PH(albeit 9.0 never 9.3) would this still be the better option over a c02 scrubber ? Opinions on this would be interesting
I’m pulling fresh air into my skimmer from the outside right now and I can’t hardly keep pH at 8.0 with alk at 9 to 9.5. Just calibrated probe and it’s dead on.
Hey Ryan I actually made a DIY scrubber using a water bottle and filled it with Soda lime. I was having trouble with my PH being stuck below 8. Fixed it right up. Usually right around 8.3-8.4. I would kind of like to keep it around 8.2 in case it swings high I'm not in the danger zone. Would removing some of the media help me to achieve that or would I just have to turn it off all together? Or am I worried about nothing and I'm okay?
Hi i was wondering if a CO2 scrubber cpuld also reduce algea like bryopsis amd bubble algea? I have low nutrients but never thought that maybe CO2 cpuld be also one of the couse of algea
Hmm...I've never heard of pH or CO2 affecting algae growth in a tank. I'd probably use other tactics to battle your algae issues like keeping nitrates/phosphates down, manual removal, or even use of products like Reef Flux or Vibrant.
Surely this is only really an issue if your skimmer/scrubber is in large open space, if your skimmer and scrubber are situated inside a cabinet wont it be re-circulating to a certain degree anyway as most cabinets have limited oxygen supply that enter them (especially the case for tanks like those by red sea where ventilation isn't great), and therefore the argument that you are scrubbing an entire house is not really valid, as it would be mostly an enclosed space anyway... or have I got this wrong
all stands are open to the house some way. Open backs, doors that dont seal, etc. You will still get household air into the stand, it just wont be as much as an open one.
@@jokerman826 I appreciate that, but i imagine the amount of air taken in by a skimmer in a cabinet will be fairly re-circulated anyway in comparison to the amount of air being ventilated into the cabinet, so surely it's not like you are scrubbing an entire house
No unfortunately this would lower pH in the tank. They goal is to remove CO2 entering the water to raise pH levels! Freshwater is at a lower pH so adding CO2 is okay, and beneficial for plants.
That's absolutely a concern to be aware of when attempting this. Ryan and Randy have been begging a skimmer manufacturer to develop a CO2 recirc product that overcomes this potential issue.
I have been struggling with keeping my ph above 8.10 and dropping to 7.8 at night even with a co2 scrubber. Tried this over the weekend and my ph at night has not dropped below 8.10 and has been around 8.25 during these last two days! Thank you for the video!
Perfect timing as I just installed a CO2 scrubber on my tank after having it for in the garage for months. Going to add this recirculating mod to increase efficiency
Great stuff guys. This is the only way to do it in my opinion, big savings on media. To combat pH being too high I run a T piece in the hose coming out of the top of the skimmer. After the split I have a tap on both hoses. I feed one hose into the scrubber and the other back into the line after the scrubber. In simpler terms I have a bypass that excludes the scrubber. I can then use the taps to regulate the amount of recirculated air being scrubbed and how much just feeds from the skimate immediately back into the skimmer. Extends the life of the co2 sorbant and allows fine tuning of the airflow and co2 scrubbing. Few days of tweaking and you'll have it pretty stable where you want it just by adjusting the two taps to regulate the air flow. Am additional T piece and tap you can also regulate the amount of fresh air feeding in. You can raise and lower your pH with the turn of a couple taps... adjustability at the cost of just a couple of dollars.
Hope that makes sense.
what about an empty tank before the media so if water gets in it goes to the empty tank first
I am testing right now!
I can’t find the valve auto shut off on the lid for skimmer, can you please post the link, thanks
Great video as always. What size TLF ball valve are using to regulate the Y?
Wouldn't it be best to put the bypass valve AFTER the scrubber? That way the media should last longer, but you could still throttle down the effect a bit.
had the co2 scrubber installed before. just didn't do anything at all. I tried from the room and reciculating the air from the tank to skimmer to co2 scrubber and back to tank and no results. went back and thought path of least resistance. I looked at scrubber any holes or anything and then the skimmer. the lid has air holes. so I took electrical tape to cove the holes up in the lid. I saw a drop of ph from 7.88 to 7.82 overnight. which was promising. it would normally drop from 7.88 to 7.6 and then back up to 7.7 and the next night down to 7.5. and etc. but last night was a major win. so far today it is already up to 7.88 for the PH. I don't think it will hit 8.1 or above but if it's stable at 7.8 to 8 ppm for ph. i think it's a win...
One question I would have doing this method is - would this not restrict the amount of oxygen that runs through the skimmer, meaning the water isn't oxygenated as much as drawing new air in
Assuming you have enough water circulating at the surface of the tank you'll have enough oxygen dissolving and introducing that way, not to mention the natural photosynthesis by corals or macro algae.
Good idea! It's work😀
What do you do about all the moisture that gets into the co2 scrubber and ruins the media? Thanks
If you're getting a build up in moisture, best to open the canister and dump some of that water out periodically or you'll run into that very problem.
would drilling the lid of the skimmer cup be neccasary. what about using the skimmer cup over flow instead of the ckimmer cup lid for recycling. yes you might get alot of moisture. but with the skimmer overflow hose to the scrubber and then the scrubber air out take to the air intake of the skimmer. would that still save the medai to the co2 skimmer also. I have the eshopps HOB skimmer. don't remember the model number but rated for tanks up to 100 gallons. I used to have over flows like you wouldn't believe but got a hold of the smart skimmer (i think thats what its called) and never had another flood in my house from the tank again. so it's just being wasted. ut using that to the co2 scrubber to draw air in. then to the air intake to skimmer from scrubber wouldn't that have the same results?
I ordered one of these up from you guys today. Wondering would hooking the air intake up to a fresh airline from the outside instead of recirculating be worth it? I don’t know how much CO2 outside air has but wouldn’t it be very minimal compared to the inside air? Then you wouldn’t have to worry about foam in the cup getting sucked into the media. It seems like you could get extremely oxygen rich air doing it this way.
If you can, running an airline outside is the best option. This will not only bring in low CO2 outside air, but you won't have the ongoing maintenance and expense of changing media.
Is there a recommended bulkhead or some kind of insert to use when drilling the hole in the lid or just a tight fit with the 3/8 tubing is fine?? I was thinking about reducing to ro tubing with a murlock bulkhead? Any thoughts
I wounder if you can connect a Co2 scrubber to a protein skimmer that´s already connected to ozone...?
As long as you have two ports on your venturi, then you absolutely could.
Is there a solenoid on a timer for those of us that don’t have an apex?
Most solenoids can be wired to 120v plugs, so you could, in theory, just plug that into any digital timer.
I cant find the 3 way barb fitting or valve on bulk reef can u please post links or tell me what to search
Thanks so much
I think this what you're looking for :)
www.bulkreefsupply.com/ozone-resistant-kynar-y.html
I like the concept but I have always pulled fresh air in from outside the house into the skimmer to produce stable PH(albeit 9.0 never 9.3) would this still be the better option over a c02 scrubber ? Opinions on this would be interesting
9.0 is a very high ph level. Are you sure about it being that?
I’m pulling fresh air into my skimmer from the outside right now and I can’t hardly keep pH at 8.0 with alk at 9 to 9.5. Just calibrated probe and it’s dead on.
Hey Ryan I actually made a DIY scrubber using a water bottle and filled it with Soda lime. I was having trouble with my PH being stuck below 8. Fixed it right up. Usually right around 8.3-8.4. I would kind of like to keep it around 8.2 in case it swings high I'm not in the danger zone. Would removing some of the media help me to achieve that or would I just have to turn it off all together? Or am I worried about nothing and I'm okay?
I don't think you have anything to worry about here. A pH of 8.3 to 8.4 is fantastic!
Hi i was wondering if a CO2 scrubber cpuld also reduce algea like bryopsis amd bubble algea?
I have low nutrients but never thought that maybe CO2 cpuld be also one of the couse of algea
Hmm...I've never heard of pH or CO2 affecting algae growth in a tank. I'd probably use other tactics to battle your algae issues like keeping nitrates/phosphates down, manual removal, or even use of products like Reef Flux or Vibrant.
Surely this is only really an issue if your skimmer/scrubber is in large open space, if your skimmer and scrubber are situated inside a cabinet wont it be re-circulating to a certain degree anyway as most cabinets have limited oxygen supply that enter them (especially the case for tanks like those by red sea where ventilation isn't great), and therefore the argument that you are scrubbing an entire house is not really valid, as it would be mostly an enclosed space anyway... or have I got this wrong
all stands are open to the house some way. Open backs, doors that dont seal, etc. You will still get household air into the stand, it just wont be as much as an open one.
@@jokerman826 I appreciate that, but i imagine the amount of air taken in by a skimmer in a cabinet will be fairly re-circulated anyway in comparison to the amount of air being ventilated into the cabinet, so surely it's not like you are scrubbing an entire house
Can you just pump co2 in like a fresh water tank?
No unfortunately this would lower pH in the tank. They goal is to remove CO2 entering the water to raise pH levels! Freshwater is at a lower pH so adding CO2 is okay, and beneficial for plants.
Bulk Reef Supply thanks
What happens if ur cup over flows
That's absolutely a concern to be aware of when attempting this. Ryan and Randy have been begging a skimmer manufacturer to develop a CO2 recirc product that overcomes this potential issue.
This thing not needid