Co2

[greenscooby]

Evening all, I've just bought a Tetra Plant Co2 - optimat, I know it's basic but at the moment it's all i can afford and i'm not sure whether to use Co2 or not, my plants are low light plants and i've only just started to appreciate the beauty of live plants in my tank. Any how my question is should fill my diffuser for the Co2 to come out during lights on or off, the only reason i ask is i've read a litlle bit about Co2 ( must admit i don't understand most of it - still trying to get my head around it) and most things seem to say have the Co2 dispersing into the tank when the lights are on, but the instruction leaflet says and i quote "When using the carbon dioxide set you should avoid any form of ventilation during the illumination phase - i.e without light - since plants can only absorb Co2 in connection with light. It is reccomended to ventilate during a period of darkness". I'm sooooo confused, does this mean My pump should be pointed downwards during lights on to avoid disturbing the surface water and let the diffuser provide Co2 for my tank?

Any help greatly appreciated,

Many thanks in advance,

Mark.

 

[Mr Bliss]

CO2 will always help your plants grow better, be it low light or high light, so don't hesitate to use it.

I doubt the Tetra Plant can raise your CO2 levels to a dangerous level even at night, but if you want, keep an air stone on a timer so that it's only active at night, and yeah do avoid (major) surface disturbance especially at daytime. IME a slight ripple on the surface won't affect your CO2 levels too much. Personally I feel that aereating the tank at night is just a waste of good CO2, though, and some plants (Vallisneria, Eleocharis, Lilaeopsis, and ferns like Marsilea and Microsorum) can in fact take up CO2 during the night as well. They convert it to malate to be stored until it can be used in photosynthesis the next day.