IceCap CO2 Scrubber, Small
SKU: IC-CO-50
MSRP: $ 103.94
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Available Through Authorized Retailer
- Aggressive Atmospheric CO2 Extraction: Filters out room carbon dioxide (CO2) pulled in by your skimmer pump, actively treating the primary root cause of chronically low tank pH.
- Compact 1.1lb Media Capacity: Space-saving 4-inch body cartridge holds up to 0.5 Kilograms (~500g) of loose soda lime pellets, providing an optimized size for nano tanks and tight sump compartments.
- High-Efficiency Up-Flow Design: Forces raw air to traverse through the entire media column from bottom to top, ensuring maximum contact time and chemical binding saturation.
- Heavy-Duty Push-Connect Fittings: Equipped with high-flow 3/8" push-connect fittings (3/8in) that minimize air resistance and adapt to standard protein skimmer airline diameters.
- Integrated Universal Hang-On Bracket: Features a rigid, molded acrylic hanger with built-in plastic thumbscrews to secure the reactor canister safely to your sump wall or stand rim.
- Eliminates Nightly pH Drops: Stabilizes core water parameters around a perfect 8.3 target range, minimizing stressful environmental swings when display lights switch off.
IceCap
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IceCap Small CO2 Scrubber pH Upflow Reactor (IC-CO-50)
The IceCap Small CO2 Scrubber (SKU: IC-CO-50) is an authentic, ultra-compact water care reactor distributed by CoralVue to unlock optimized coral calcification and accelerate skeletal growth rates in space-conscious reef systems and nano aquariums. In modern well-insulated homes and offices, pet and human respiration causes ambient indoor carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations to rise drastically above natural outdoor air levels. When your protein skimmer draws this unrefined air into its high-speed venturi, the gas instantly dissolves into the water column, creating an ongoing influx of carbonic acid (H2CO3). This acid actively depresses your baseline pH. Low pH forces corals to expend significant metabolic energy just to build their calcium skeletons, stalling overall growth and causing problematic daily parameter swings. The IC-CO-50 breaks this cycle cleanly and affordably in a true miniature form factor.
Featuring a heavy-gauge 4-inch clear acrylic body housing with a compressed height profile, this small-scale scrubber serves as a high-contact chemical air filter. You simply hook up the included air tubing from the top output port of the reactor directly to the air intake on your skimmer pump (bypassing or removing your stock skimmer silencer cup). As the skimmer pump naturally sucks room air through the reactor base, the air cascades upward through a 1.1-pound bed of soda lime pellets. This dense reactive matrix traps the gaseous carbon dioxide on contact, locking it into solid calcium carbonate. Only pure, CO2-stripped oxygen is allowed to enter your skimmer's bubble chamber. Designed specifically for tight cabinet setups, desktop stands, and all-in-one rear chambers, the Small Scrubber provides a stable, predictable solution to maintain a rock-solid 8.3 pH baseline.
Key Features:
Built-In Secondary Deflector Plates: Integrated interior baffle plates guide incoming air uniformly across the entire media chamber, preventing air from "tunneling" up a single side.
High-Clarity Heavy Canister: Transparent structural wall construction permits instant visual checks on your media bed's color shift indicator from across the room without popping the seal.
Ultra-Compact Form Factor: Standing at just 6.5 inches tall, it squeezes into tight configurations where standard medium or large inline media scrubbers physically cannot fit.
Note: This filtration package includes the standalone small reactor body, integrated bracket assembly, 3/8-inch fittings, and connecting airline tubing. High-volume replacement color-changing media jars are sold under separate product categories.
IceCap Upflow CO2 Scrubber Series Profile
What’s Included:
(1) IceCap Small CO2 Scrubber Canister Reactor with Built-In Mounting Bracket
(1) Section of Flexible Heavy-Wall Connecting Airline Tubing
(2) 3/8-Inch Push-Connect Quick Elbow Fittings
(2) Non-Marring Nylon Security Thumbscrews
Technical Specs:
Official Manufacturing Title: IceCap CO2 Scrubber Small
SKU / Factory Part Identifier: IC-CO-50
Universal UPC Product Barcode: 6972809520840
Total Base Footprint Space: 4.2 Inches x 4.2 Inches (10.67 cm x 10.67 cm)
Total Vertical Unit Height: 6.5 Inches (16.51 cm)
Main Reactor Cylinder Diameter: 4-Inch Heavy Wall Acrylic Tube
Net Dry Pellet Volume Capacity: Holds Up to 1.1 lbs (0.5 kg) of Soda Lime Media
Plumbing Quick-Connect Port Profile: 3/8-Inch Push-Fit Interfacing
Sump Mounting Compatibility: Fits standard rimmed or rimless sump glass up to 1" thick
Warranty
CoralVue, Inc. hereby guarantees this product to be free from defects in material and workmanship for a period of:
- 1 Year
Warranty is activated on the date of purchase.
This Standard Limited Warranty applies and is limited as follows:
- To the product only as long as it remains in the possession of the original purchaser.
- To the product that has not been subject to accident, misuse or abuse.
- To the product that has not been modified, altered, defaced, or had repairs made or attempted by other than CoralVue, Inc.
- That CoralVue be immediately notified in writing within ten (10) days of first knowledge of defect by owner or his agent.
- That CoralVue, Inc. shall be given first opportunity to make any repairs, replacements or corrections to the defective construction within a reasonable period of time.
- Under no circumstances shall CoralVue and/or the Manufacturer be liable by virtue of this warranty or otherwise for damage to any person or property whatsoever for any special, indirect, secondary or consequential damages of any nature however arising out of the use or inability to use because of the product defect.
Instructions:
- Unbox your IC-CO-50 reactor and remove the top lid by turning it counter-clockwise. Pull out the interior media cartridge container.
- Pour roughly 1/2 tablespoon of pure RO/DI water directly into the very bottom floor of the outer clear canister base shell. Warning: Do not let this liquid touch the dry pellets directly; it must sit beneath the bottom mesh grid.
- Fill the removable inner cartridge with your color-changing CO2 media pellets (sold separately). Slide the filled cartridge back down centered inside the main housing, making sure the internal foam pad sits flat.
- Thread the reactor lid back onto the cylinder body hand-tight to compress the upper silicone sealing ring for an airtight gasket connection.
- Secure the reactor to your glass sump wall, cabinet framing, or rear AIO chamber wall utilizing the built-in thumbscrew hanger bracket.
- Disconnect the stock air silencer cup from your protein skimmer's intake pipe. Run the provided flexible tubing from the 3/8" top output fitting of the IceCap scrubber straight onto the skimmer's air inlet venturi node, then power on your skimmer to begin active air scrubbing.
Pro Tips:
- Always Maintain a Small Pool of RO/DI Water in the Canister Base. Soda lime CO2 media requires a high humidity level inside the reaction chamber to allow its active binding agents to trap carbon dioxide molecules efficiently. If the room air being pulled into the scrubber is bone-dry, the pellets will dry out and exhaust prematurely. Pouring a tiny splash of pure RO/DI water into the base of the outer housing keeps the air moist, dramatically extending the operational life of each media change. Just ensure the water level stays safely below the bottom grates of the media column.
- Monitor Your Alkalinity Consumption Closely After Installation. When you hook up a CO2 scrubber to a thriving reef system, your water's pH will typically jump by 0.15 to 0.30 points within the first 48 hours. This higher, stable pH makes it significantly easier for hard corals to build their skeletons, causing them to grow much faster. Because their calcification engine goes into overdrive, they will begin consuming alkalinity, calcium, and magnesium at a much higher rate. Monitor your water parameters closely over the first week to adjust your dosing pumps and prevent a sudden alkalinity drop.
- Set Up a Recirculating Water Loop to Drastically Reduce Media Costs. If you are running this small scrubber on an aggressive nano skimmer, running a standard single-pass setup can burn through the 0.5kg media bed quickly in a closed room. To make your media last up to 3 to 4 times longer, build a "recirculating loop." Instead of leaving the reactor's air inlet open to the room, drill a hole in the top lid of your protein skimmer's collection cup and run a line from that lid directly back into the bottom air intake port of the CO2 scrubber. This recirculates the moist, already-scrubbed air inside the skimmer cup, minimizing media burn while keeping your pH consistently locked at peak levels.