got CO2?

[longhorn13]

i'm so excited, i just got my CO2 system up and running! i picked up the CO2 bottle thursday afternoon, and i had to make myself be patient and wait until this morning to get it set up so it could start off with a full day of light to work with.

ok, now for a question.....turn it off at night, or let it run? i'd always thought i would have to turn it off at night (and if i do, i can just plug it into my light timer), bit then i did some reading a bunch of smart people (at least they sounded like it and had physics degrees and other smart people things) said to keep it running at night. as for now i'm going to let it run, but i'll just keep a close eye on everyone this weekend. there is an airstone, so that should help at night too.

i can't wait to see how my plants react!

 

[TwoTankAmin]

Running an airstone or creating surface aggitation other ways will outgas the co2. Test your tank's pH a few hours after lights out and right before lights on. This way you will know if running the co2 is causing pH swings. If it is, you have two choices for dealing with the nightime buildup. You can get a solenoid on a timer that turns it off as the light go out and restarts the co2 right before they come on. A more expensive and sohisticated method is to use a pH controller which will regulate the co2 flow based on a desired pH level.

A poor mans solution is to put an airstone on a seperate timer to come on at lights out and go off right before they come back on. The airstone will outgas the co2 which you can then leave running 24/7.

 

[Angry_Platy]

Well I have DIY CO2 and was told to leave it on at night....but I also heard that for pressurised CO2 systems to turn it off at night.....since the plants don't use CO2 when there is no lights....

 

[longhorn13]

i usually just leave the airstone/bubblewand (whatever it is) running all the time, will that counteract using CO2 during the day?

 

[yvez9]

yes
co2 escapes in the air when there is sruface agitation

you want to keep this at a minimum

usually, we add air stones to increase o2 in the water

now, you are adding co2 so your plants can produce the o2 for the fish!

 

[Yenko]

I use DIY CO2, so mine runs 24/7. As the plant biomass in the tank increases I'm starting to get PH swings of .2-.3, depending on how much fishfood I have put in in the last few days; the tank is very nutrient-limited.