Use of brs co2 scrubber on my 120!! [emoji41]

Rcunning8

Rcunning8

Premium member
Hey guys I didn't want you to miss out on this little experiment I am doing on my tank. I posted this write up on my build thread but in case you don't follow me there I wanted to share it in its own separate thread as well. Today is day 1!!

So guys I wanted to update my thread with a new piece of equipment that I purchased from brs!! I saw a video from Ryan on brs tv that demonstrated the use of a co2 scrubber on their 160 build and since my ph has been running low since I upgraded to the new apex I decided I would try it out.

According to most people the most optimal ph to run your tank is 8.3-8.4 as this ph increases coral growth and health. I just recently read a book which indicated that corals start to die and or loose viability at ph less than 7.8 which is sad to hear as this seems to be the fate at which our oceans are heading towards .

Many people have heard that the ocean is becoming "acidified" and if you haven't heard of this you must be living under a rock! The reason behind ocean acidification is simple. Increased co2 in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels increases what is known as the partial pressure of co2. Some of you may also know the the oceans act as a buffer and when the atmospheric partial pressure of co2 increases this drives co2 into the ocean in order to equilibriate these gases. This is not so good for our reefs because when co2 and h2o combine they form h2co3 i.e. carbonic acid. Carbonic acid dissociates into a hydrogen atom and hco3-. If any of you have taken chemistry you will know that hydrogen ions are acidic ions and therefore drop the ph of the oceans and our home aquariums.

A good way to test this in real time is to turn on the burners (while cooking food) on your stove and if you have an apex and tank in close vicinity to your stove you will see the ph drop drastically!! This is because the burning of natural gas produces co2 and therefore the above process happens. This is why people who tell you to open your windows to increase your ph when ph is reading low because the pressence of humans and or pets indoors can increase co2 levels and the partial pressure of co2 of indoor air is allllways higher than outdoor air no matter how well ventilated your apartment or home is.

Hence the indication for use of a co2 scrubber on your tank! For people who have never heard of this device, little do you know that it has probably been used on you if you have ever undergone surgery under general anesthesia! This device basically takes in airs via negative pressure created by the skimmer, runs it through the medical grade co2 absorbing media and injects air composed of only nitrogen and oxygen into your tank therefore eliminating any additional co2 that is injected into your tank via the skimmer.

Anyways after seeing the video and understanding why this device works I decided to make the plunge and purchase this piece of equipment, all in all it cost me about 100 bucks which ain't to shabby!! Now pics of my installation!

184252154f4e002a7e64620758ac00a0.jpg


7ec3f80f43df05be73c8cfc1feee6297.jpg


Tube connected to scrubber attached to my skimmer air intake line below
9318d35a3e12e8d06b1694a0d3f219ec.jpg


Apex graph showing a sharp rise in ph after installation
29372a205d1b9ce9a628b6f01983e5ed.png


My ph usually maxes out at 8.1 when I don't touch my tank at all and am hands off. Today I was making frags and messing with the sandbed so it did not max out at that number. I hope that this equipment will help with my ph as it is still low and if not I need to start thinking of probe issues because I don't think that my ph is correctly representing my true ph of my tank given how gosh damn healthy and amazing growth that has been taking place. I will continue to monitor this measurement over the coming days and fingers are crossed hoping that this method may help my low ph problem. Hope this post was helpful and happy reefing yo!


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Well day two of using this thing, ph was a little better today as well, hope it keeps increasing but given the mechanism of action this thing has on increasing ph, I won't be holding my breath as the increase in ph that I was hoping for should have occurred within a 24 hour period. We shall see! Regardless the increase that I did get is enough for me to keep running the skimmer air line through the scrubber as I believe every bit helps and I already put two holes in my wall haha


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These work great when your ph bottoms out. If ph drops replace the media and you should get a boost in ph.
 
So people have been using these and not talking about them? I thought these were pretty New as I just saw the video on brs


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Rcunning8 said:
So people have been using these and not talking about them? I thought these were pretty New as I just saw the video on brs


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Click to expand...
People on here dont talk about ph cause everybody yells why u chasing ph it dont matter your dumb yada yada yada . Trust me i tried asking about ph u see how many people responded but u mention trump and every one has a comment go figure . I never heard of these but i see a purchase in the near future thanks keep me posted how it works
 
madjoe said:
Sounds like a new toy i need to buy
Click to expand...

I would highly recommend this item joe, although I'm not getting the number I want I could see this thing really helping with a not so well ventilated area with people and or pets present. The ceilings in this apartment are like 30 feet with ceiling fans and only three people live here and the apartment is massive so I didn't think there would be much change in my ph number after installing but what I did notice is that my ph only fluctuates by .05 now depending on day or night!

In regards to your other comment I disagree, ph is a number that should be chased! Especially after reading the book I just read I found out how important it is to have a good ph. Corals at lower ph have MUCH weaker skeletons as demonstrated by this area off coast of Africa that has co2 constantly bubbling from the earth into the reef, corals here are shown to grow much slower and when built are much weaker because the acidic ions in the water inhibit the strong bonding process that should be undergone when calcium and carbonate come together. So ph should be chased just not by extreme measures like adding alkalinity or adding those dumb buffer products


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The area with this constant co2 production from the earth is called dobu island off the coast of Papua New Guinea. This specific site has become a beacon of scientific research as it is a representative microcosm of what our oceans will look like in the near future if carbon dioxide emissions are not reduced and conversion to clean energy by industrialized countries is not attained.

Sadly we have just elected a president who denies the existence of this man made catastrophe even in the face of a resounding and united scientific community of its existence. Although president elect trump seems to have backtracked and come more to the middle on his understanding of this problem, his appointments to important key EPA positions and recent appointment of the Secretary of State, a former Exxon Mobil CEO indicate another agenda completely. I will be waiting patiently to give president trump a chance as he appears to have appealed to some part of this nation which has not been listened to or completely ignored for the past 8 years and I believe as people of this nation, we are all equal and all ideas deserve a chance. I just hope that a majority of the pandering that took place on the campaign trail was just that, pandering and I hope that his policies reflect a different person and not the person I saw on the trail. Most importantly I hope that the promises made under Obama are kept in regards to our pledge to reduce carbon emissions because I believe this is the most important problem facing our nation and world today.

How's that for political [MENTION=1217]madjoe[/MENTION]

lol I would appreciate if this post does not turn into political mumbo jumbo but if you desire to share your ideas or understanding of climate change on this thread I feel it is appropriate. I am not bashing trump so please do not take this post as an attack on him or an invitation to initiate a debate on how great or terrible trump will be as president. This is a discussion on a co2 scrubber lol and therefore a discussion on why we need to remove as much co2 from our aquariums as possible.

Look up the island that I noted above it is a very interesting place. There is also a documentary on Netflix that shows the island in full detail and I recommend watching it!


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Last edited:
Rcunning8 said:
I would highly recommend this item joe, although I'm not getting the number I want I could see this thing really helping with a not so well ventilated area with people and or pets present. The ceilings in this apartment are like 30 feet with ceiling fans and only three people live here and the apartment is massive so I didn't think there would be much change in my ph number after installing but what I did notice is that my ph only fluctuates by .05 now depending on day or night!

In regards to your other comment I disagree, ph is a number that should be chased! Especially after reading the book I just read I found out how important it is to have a good ph. Corals at lower ph have MUCH weaker skeletons as demonstrated by this area off coast of Africa that has co2 constantly bubbling from the earth into the reef, corals here are shown to grow much slower and when built are much weaker because the acidic ions in the water inhibit the strong bonding process that should be undergone when calcium and carbonate come together. So ph should be chased just not by extreme measures like adding alkalinity or adding those dumb buffer products


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Click to expand...

Oh i agree about ph im saying others say dont chase . And i think thats the issue is the word chase i dont believe we trying chase anything in r tanks i believe we r trying to acheieve stability not chasing numbers cause if your chasing that means your always behind and thats no good . And as for your political comment it kinda proves my point even u could help the chance of makeing long comment about it all i did was say a name . Im just saying I appreciate threads like this i gotta say this has been one of the most useful threads ive seen on this site in about a yr other then that the forsale section gets me more answers to my questions then makeing a thread about something lol sad but true
 
wrasse said:
Mine works great in the summer. I "think" that my furnace does a good job of getting air exchange where the ac just recirculates the inside air.
Click to expand...

Hmm u would expect the opposite as furnaces usually circulate air that has been heated by burning gas and theeefore high co2 concentration. Very interesting indeed! I wanna grow some plants like ferns around the tank to see if it has any effect. Even though we clean the air of co2 entering through the skimmer it is impossible to eliminate it from entering at the waters surface just from the general atmosphere in our apartments and houses


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Rcunning8 said:
Hey guys I didn't want you to miss out on this little experiment I am doing on my tank. I posted this write up on my build thread but in case you don't follow me there I wanted to share it in its own separate thread as well. Today is day 1!!

So guys I wanted to update my thread with a new piece of equipment that I purchased from brs!! I saw a video from Ryan on brs tv that demonstrated the use of a co2 scrubber on their 160 build and since my ph has been running low since I upgraded to the new apex I decided I would try it out.

According to most people the most optimal ph to run your tank is 8.3-8.4 as this ph increases coral growth and health. I just recently read a book which indicated that corals start to die and or loose viability at ph less than 7.8 which is sad to hear as this seems to be the fate at which our oceans are heading towards .

Many people have heard that the ocean is becoming "acidified" and if you haven't heard of this you must be living under a rock! The reason behind ocean acidification is simple. Increased co2 in the atmosphere from the burning of fossil fuels increases what is known as the partial pressure of co2. Some of you may also know the the oceans act as a buffer and when the atmospheric partial pressure of co2 increases this drives co2 into the ocean in order to equilibriate these gases. This is not so good for our reefs because when co2 and h2o combine they form h2co3 i.e. carbonic acid. Carbonic acid dissociates into a hydrogen atom and hco3-. If any of you have taken chemistry you will know that hydrogen ions are acidic ions and therefore drop the ph of the oceans and our home aquariums.

A good way to test this in real time is to turn on the burners (while cooking food) on your stove and if you have an apex and tank in close vicinity to your stove you will see the ph drop drastically!! This is because the burning of natural gas produces co2 and therefore the above process happens. This is why people who tell you to open your windows to increase your ph when ph is reading low because the pressence of humans and or pets indoors can increase co2 levels and the partial pressure of co2 of indoor air is allllways higher than outdoor air no matter how well ventilated your apartment or home is.

Hence the indication for use of a co2 scrubber on your tank! For people who have never heard of this device, little do you know that it has probably been used on you if you have ever undergone surgery under general anesthesia! This device basically takes in airs via negative pressure created by the skimmer, runs it through the medical grade co2 absorbing media and injects air composed of only nitrogen and oxygen into your tank therefore eliminating any additional co2 that is injected into your tank via the skimmer.

Anyways after seeing the video and understanding why this device works I decided to make the plunge and purchase this piece of equipment, all in all it cost me about 100 bucks which ain't to shabby!! Now pics of my installation!

184252154f4e002a7e64620758ac00a0.jpg


7ec3f80f43df05be73c8cfc1feee6297.jpg


Tube connected to scrubber attached to my skimmer air intake line below
9318d35a3e12e8d06b1694a0d3f219ec.jpg


Apex graph showing a sharp rise in ph after installation
29372a205d1b9ce9a628b6f01983e5ed.png


My ph usually maxes out at 8.1 when I don't touch my tank at all and am hands off. Today I was making frags and messing with the sandbed so it did not max out at that number. I hope that this equipment will help with my ph as it is still low and if not I need to start thinking of probe issues because I don't think that my ph is correctly representing my true ph of my tank given how gosh damn healthy and amazing growth that has been taking place. I will continue to monitor this measurement over the coming days and fingers are crossed hoping that this method may help my low ph problem. Hope this post was helpful and happy reefing yo!


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U should start putting these kits 2gether and selling on Egay
Bryan
Click to expand...
 
Rcunning8 said:
Hmm u would expect the opposite as furnaces usually circulate air that has been heated by burning gas and theeefore high co2 concentration. Very interesting indeed! I wanna grow some plants like ferns around the tank to see if it has any effect. Even though we clean the air of co2 entering through the skimmer it is impossible to eliminate it from entering at the waters surface just from the general atmosphere in our apartments and houses


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Click to expand...
Exactly the furnace vents out the CO2 allowing for better air to be available.
I have some plants as well they do a good job.
 
madjoe said:
Oh i agree about ph im saying others say dont chase . And i think thats the issue is the word chase i dont believe we trying chase anything in r tanks i believe we r trying to acheieve stability not chasing numbers cause if your chasing that means your always behind and thats no good . And as for your political comment it kinda proves my point even u could help the chance of makeing long comment about it all i did was say a name . Im just saying I appreciate threads like this i gotta say this has been one of the most useful threads ive seen on this site in about a yr other then that the forsale section gets me more answers to my questions then makeing a thread about something lol sad but true
Click to expand...

So true Joe! So true indeed my friend! I really wish more people would do product write ups in particular because honestly right now doing my own research on these things is more boring than having a discussion like this one. Furthermore if I didn't discover this through the brs tv that I always watch on their 160 I would have never discovered this product and apparently it has been around for some time un benounced to me!! Everytime I find something new and interesting I promise to keep sharing to keep the community healthy and not turn into what Josh always mentions as a just constant for sale thread like those other sites out there have turned into.

One more thing I apologize if that last post offended u in anyway lol that was my first ever and last political post I have ever made on the internet! Hope u still want to redeem your 50 percent discount at chumminghams reef when u are ready!

Lol my roommate is going to make me a sign with wood and paint with title chumminghams reef. My last name is cunningham lol. I'll post on my build thread when the sign is done, she is pretty good painter so I have high expectations for my sign


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wrasse said:
Exactly the furnace vents out the CO2 allowing for better air to be available.
I have some plants as well they do a good job.
Click to expand...

What kind of plants do u have? I think a couple of ferns would be nice


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No offense taken . Yea im shocked with all my googling of ph in last few weeks ive havent come across one mention of this so to find out its old news is new news to me
 
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