If you’re from colder climbs, winter presents several challenges for your reef tank including increased condensation and carbon dioxide in the home. Carbon dioxide is the enemy of reef-building corals and its acidifying effects are well documented in the oceans. Keep windows and doors closed to keep heat in and CO2 will build up, lowering the pH in your reef tank and hindering hard coral’s ability to build their skeletons. Protein skimmers drag in room air and act like CO2 diffusers, and one way to counteract that is with a CO2 scrubber.
Aquaforest joined the CO2 scrubber category this year with the AF Air Scrubber. It’s a reactor that connects to the inlet of your skimmer’s silencer and absorbs CO2 from the room air that the skimmer is sucking in. CO2 scrubbers aren’t new but Aquaforest has put some extra thought into theirs with a super easy-to-open top as well as a quick-release sponge base that can be soaked in RO water to moisten the air as it travels through the reactor and increase the media’s uptake capacity.
CO2 media works better with moist air. The media changes color when it’s spent, but has been deliberately selected for its small granule size and high surface area, meaning better absorption and less ease for the air to track and channel straight up through the chamber. Another sponge is then provided for the application of activated carbon to further filter atmospheric air and help remove pollutants. This may also benefit those pulling air from outside but in high-pollution areas.
We are all now much more aware of the benefits of high pH, but also the damage that nighttime lows can cause to our corals, and a scrubber is one way to fix that. And if you’re stuck for space don’t forget that this is one reactor that doesn’t have to sit in your sump or even your cabinet. Aquaforest is claiming a pH increase of 0.2-0.4 with the Air Scrubber in optimum conditions, so if you’re experiencing lows of pH 7.8 and don’t want to take the hydroxides or algae reactor routes, it’s a practical solution to pH enhancement this winter.
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