impur Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Previously i have ran the airline for the venturi on my skimmer to a window so it would draw in fresh O2 instead of the air in my house which I believe is high in CO2 due to being energy efficient. We open windows and doors as often as you can in Oregon, but it just doesn't help that much. I got fed up with having an airline running across the floor of my house so after some research I decided to make a CO2 scrubber for my skimmer venturi to pull air thru. The media absorbs the CO2 giving my skimmer pure O2 to draw into the water. This is what i came up with after a couple failed attempts at other reactors. I was out in my garage contemplating my next move after realizing my first reactor plan had failed. I glanced over at the little container that holds all these small clamps that I picked up at Harbor Freight one day. Its a plastic cylinder and 2 rubber end caps. I emptied it and tried to get the sticker off but yeah thats not coming off. Oh well. First i needed to cut a perfect hole for my 1/2" MPT X 1/4" barb fitting. I found a metal 1/2" MPT fitting and heated it up then applied it to the rubber end cap to cut out the small circle Fitting installed, i used an oring and locknut inside Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 For the air intake side i grabbed a tent stake i had laying around and did the same thing with the heat So here are the 3 parts Next i used a mesh bag i had that fit over the tube perfectly. The air intake endcap will then go over the bag to hold the media and make sure nothing gets into the reactor Filled with media Done Installed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 I need to take some pH readings now over the next few days and see how well it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TRENT Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Great idea, tagging along for those PH results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lewisriverfisherman Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Nice Idea!! I really like the DIY things that the members do here on this forum. Hope this achieves all your looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drew Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Sweet! I love DIY stuff thanks for the post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 The best part of this thread was the "liquid inspiration" you used!! Seriously, looks good hope to hear it works out great for you! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Yah i finished off my keg of it last weekend :/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LC Scott Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 Tap plastic carry's tubes just like that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Yes, but we don't have a Tap plastics and I already had this on hand. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I must have missed it or its not mentioned- Whats the media you used? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 2, 2011 Author Share Posted May 2, 2011 Its air purification media though i've got an email into them to find out more detail. Here is a link http://www.thefilterguys.biz/skimmer_media.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted May 2, 2011 Share Posted May 2, 2011 I need to take some pH readings now over the next few days and see how well it works What do you use for measuring your PH levels- Thanks for that link-I have a reactor that is sitting around that would work perfect for this-Curious to see how your PH is effected. Yesterday was the first day I had doors open and my tanks level got to 8.24-WOO HOO (laugh) Usually if I hit 8.00 during the day thats high for my tank-granted my corals look great so I am on the fence to whether his will make it better or not but it certainly would not hurt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Ok the media is soda lime. I am going to start looking for a bulk source if this works well. I also think it can be recharged but i need to do some more research there. I should have taken a pH reading right before installing the scrubber but i was just too tired from working on the tanks all day. But i did a test last night at 6:00pm and the tank was sitting at 8.5. I use a red sea test kit. I'll do another test tonight at 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Here is the email i got back as well: The media is soda lime used in hospitals and deep sea diving to absorb CO2. Closed houses have high levels of CO2 from home heating and air conditioning which depresses the pH in our aquariums. The media may raise the pH by about .2 to .3 by reducing the CO2 air intake levels. The media also seems to make the skimmer bubbles more elastic and last longer improving skimmer performance. Cone skimmers are the one exception as they become uncontrollable. Jim http://www.thefilterguys.biz/ My cone skimmer is working just fine so far Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grassi Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 Looks promising. You should turn it off for a couple of days and do a test so you have a before and after. I'm tagging along Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 Yah i will probably do that after running it for a week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefnjunkie Posted May 3, 2011 Share Posted May 3, 2011 So I wonder what happens in the "summer" (if it ever gets here) when you have more doors/widows open-PH of 8.8 (scratch) Glad your cone is working this line spooked me-(scary); "Cone skimmers are the one exception as they become uncontrollable" Being my new cone skimmer is already a steriod unit (laugh) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 3, 2011 Author Share Posted May 3, 2011 I have central air so i don't open more doors/windows when it gets hot. Yah i haven't even adjusted the skimmer its still running the same as it was last week. Although i did add my 3 fish to my tank so i will have to adjust it here soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 I tested a 7pm last night, pH was at 8.6. But my temp controller fell off the side of my stand, then landed on the power strip switch that my lights are plugged into. So the lights didn't come on until 3 or 4 hours later than usual. Not sure if that affected the test or not. I'll do another each night this week then take the scrubber offline and do the same tests next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 I tested a 7pm last night, pH was at 8.6. But my temp controller fell off the side of my stand, then landed on the power strip switch that my lights are plugged into. So the lights didn't come on until 3 or 4 hours later than usual. Not sure if that affected the test or not. I'll do another each night this week then take the scrubber offline and do the same tests next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted May 4, 2011 Share Posted May 4, 2011 Hey Miles questions for ya........ How much was the media? (size and cost) Does the amount of media use vary on tank size? Or is it just depleted quicker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 4, 2011 Author Share Posted May 4, 2011 I posted a link on the 2nd page to where i got the media, i think it was 15-20 bucks or so. Yah the less media you use the quicker it would be used up. Really all depends on how much CO2 it is absorbing, and that depends on how much CO2 is in your house. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
impur Posted May 5, 2011 Author Share Posted May 5, 2011 8.6 at 6:30. Unfortunately thats as high as my test kit goes.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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