Co2 Injection

[wolfwolf]

Okay, I changed my lights from T8 to T5's and increaded the wpg. I have around 1.8wpg with one daylight bulb and one plant bulb. Since the change my aquarium has grown lots of bba and now green algae on my driftwood. The green algae actually looks REALLY cool but the bba looks terrible. I use excel now but apparently my co2 is either low or fluctuating. I already use the max dose recommended on the bottle of excel.

So I'm thinking CO2 injection which I did want, then didn't want, but now have to have.... So given current economic conditons I need to kee this cheap.

I have a 29 gallon tank with a sand substrate. My tap water is pH 7.5, kH is 2-3. So I'd like to get a fermentation based system which I can get for $30. My concern is having the CO2 running 24/7. I've read that it should not run at night, but a solenoid valve seems too complex for me and too expensive ($87).

Will I kill all of my fish ifi I do not halt Co2 at night? Could I just shoot for a low Co2 concentration in order to minimize the pH swing at night?

I have done an overdoes of Excel to kill BBA and it does work but I am having to overdose on a regular schedule and it is not ideal.

 

[SuperColey1]

Is a common problem. You have upgraded to T5 taking W per W using the WPG rule where T8s are a little more efficient than the WPG rule but not enough to be bothered with but T5s are vastly more efficient than the WPG rule by as much as 2 x!!!

Therefore your 1.8WPG is more like being at the equivalent of 3.6 on the WPG scale due to T5s effectiveness!!!.

I am therefore assuming you have 36W?? is that 2 tubes? what are the W of the tubes.

You know what I am going to say next!!!

BBA is CO2 linked in nearly every case. Excel can help but your high light makes this hard to do with Excel alone. DIY could work on your tank but you are in the upper reaches. However those kits are not going to do it. You would minimum 2 preferably 3 for it to supply the stability and quantity your lights will drive the plants to consume.

I would therefore suggest you search for a DIY thread that tells you how to make it from coke bottles and some airline. there is no point buying 3 kits as that ishalf the money of pressurised anyway.

No there is no problem with the fish by running it at night. If you are worried then spend the $30 on an air pump and stone and a timer and run it when lights go off until 2 hours pre lights on.

Forget about the Ph swing unless your KH is at the extreme low or high end. Ph swings cause by pressurised can lower by 1 over a space of 4-5 hours, sometimes less and the fish aren't affected.

AC

 

[wolfwolf]

One more side question- I have a HOB filter that no matter what I do will disturb the surface of the water. Am I wasting my time with Co2 since it will gas off too fast?

 

[Nick16]

yeah, surface adjitation and airstones drive the co2 out the water. i have little adjitation and no airstones in my rekord 120, which is roughly the same size as your tank. i use diy co2, with 2 bottles connected to one diffuser cots me about 50p-£1 a month to run, after you have got the airline, packets of yeast last me ages and sugar is cheap.

 

[SuperColey1]

With pressurised you can have surface disturbance because you can just increase the inkection to compensate. Mine is like rapids along the top!!!

With DIY you are left with fighting to keep all the CO2 that you can and not lose any so you need to find a way to stop the surface movement I'm afraid.

Ac