zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
what are some pros and cons of having a C02 system in your planted tank?
C02?
- Thread starter zach_1_6
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Pros:
Plants will grow faster and be healthier
Under higher light, it will help to control nuisance algae, like BBA
It will allow you to grow more demanding plants (with addition of good lighting and fertilizers)
CONS:
Expense (if pressurized)
Time (if DIY)
That is really about it for Cons. Planted tanks will benefit from addition of CO2, even lower light tanks. Just keep in mind that if you are looking at more demanding plants, CO2 is required, as is good lighting and fertilizing. When you move into higher tech tanks, it becomes more difficult to keep things in balance. Things can happen a lot quicker in a high tech tank, and algae outbreaks are guaranteed if you skip tank maintenance.
Plants will grow faster and be healthier
Under higher light, it will help to control nuisance algae, like BBA
It will allow you to grow more demanding plants (with addition of good lighting and fertilizers)
CONS:
Expense (if pressurized)
Time (if DIY)
That is really about it for Cons. Planted tanks will benefit from addition of CO2, even lower light tanks. Just keep in mind that if you are looking at more demanding plants, CO2 is required, as is good lighting and fertilizing. When you move into higher tech tanks, it becomes more difficult to keep things in balance. Things can happen a lot quicker in a high tech tank, and algae outbreaks are guaranteed if you skip tank maintenance.
There are tons on both the pro and con side and it also depends on the type of CO2 setup you have.
Pro: Many high light plants will not thrive or grow well without it. It also helps high light plants grow faster and thus outcompete algae that can come with high light.
Cons: Benefits are marginal for the amount of time and expense if you keep only medium or low light plants. The expense also really ads up, whether you buy a top of the line system, DIY with soda bottles or something in between.
DIY comes with a million and one drawbacks, but the initial startup cost is usually cheap or free.
Problems with sealing a DIY can take forever to sort out. Also, the lines need to be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis or the yeast gunk can accumulate and either block the tubing or get in your tank.
These are just a few thoughts.
Pro: Many high light plants will not thrive or grow well without it. It also helps high light plants grow faster and thus outcompete algae that can come with high light.
Cons: Benefits are marginal for the amount of time and expense if you keep only medium or low light plants. The expense also really ads up, whether you buy a top of the line system, DIY with soda bottles or something in between.
DIY comes with a million and one drawbacks, but the initial startup cost is usually cheap or free.
Problems with sealing a DIY can take forever to sort out. Also, the lines need to be thoroughly cleaned on a regular basis or the yeast gunk can accumulate and either block the tubing or get in your tank.
These are just a few thoughts.
Ziggy953
Aquarium Advice Addict
I totally agree. I'm new to the planted side of things and use a DIY system for my 10g tank, I have high light on the tank and was having an issue with algae until I started dosing CO2. now my plant's are growing out of the tank and the algae is all gone.
Depending on the size tank you have DIY works very well. I'm going to go pressurized with my larger system because I want to have some ground cover and I have very hight light using LEDs.
Depending on the size tank you have DIY works very well. I'm going to go pressurized with my larger system because I want to have some ground cover and I have very hight light using LEDs.
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zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
i will probably go with a commercial one, should i worry about suffication my fish by accidentaly adding to much CO2?
Ziggy953
Aquarium Advice Addict
There are test kits that you can check to see how much dissolved CO2 you have but your fish are the best indicator. If you see them at the surface a lot gasping then you know it's time to back things off a bit. I bubble CO2 and O2 at the same time. It's a bit counterproductive but it keeps things in balance. This is only on my 10g at the moment. I haven't gotten things going on the 54g corner yet.
yes. That is a concern. You have to have a plan to dose it correctly and measure your CO2 levels, especially initially as you set it up.
One con I forgot... unstable CO2 that is higher than equilibrium with air, but lower than say 20ppm or so can actually contribute to algae growth rather than help prevent it. So too little is also bad... but on to your question about too much:
A pressurized system will generally come with a selenoid valve. This is an electric valve that will control whether or not your co2 is flowing. There are basically 2 ways to automate the process and keep from adding too much CO2:
Timer: Most will set the selenoid to open about 30 minutes before the lights pop on, and turn off 30 mins to an hour before the lights go out. Plants only use CO2 when the lights are on (during photosynthesis). Adding CO2 at night can cause the tank to reach dangerous levels
pH Controller:
This is the best way to control your CO2 (although more pricey). You set the controller at a specific pH and plug your solenoid into the controller. Since addition of CO2 lowers pH, the controller will turn off when the deadband of the controller hits the number you set. It will turn back on when the pH rises back above the deadband for your setting. With this method, the CO2 level in your tank is essentially constant. I use this method, and have literally not touched my CO2 system in over a year.
There are a couple common ways to measure how much CO2 you have in the tank: either by testing KH and pH and extrapolating on a chart:
Or by using a drop checker, which gives you an accurate (if not exact) measurement of the CO2 level in your tank.
Also, as to the original question, it can kill your fish if levels get too high, and there are horror stories of selenoids getting stuck open and killing all the fish. But this is rare. And it take a lot of CO2 for this to happen. I have heard of people keeping tanks at 50+ppm with no reported effects on fish (recommended is right around 30ppm CO2).
One con I forgot... unstable CO2 that is higher than equilibrium with air, but lower than say 20ppm or so can actually contribute to algae growth rather than help prevent it. So too little is also bad... but on to your question about too much:
A pressurized system will generally come with a selenoid valve. This is an electric valve that will control whether or not your co2 is flowing. There are basically 2 ways to automate the process and keep from adding too much CO2:
Timer: Most will set the selenoid to open about 30 minutes before the lights pop on, and turn off 30 mins to an hour before the lights go out. Plants only use CO2 when the lights are on (during photosynthesis). Adding CO2 at night can cause the tank to reach dangerous levels
pH Controller:
This is the best way to control your CO2 (although more pricey). You set the controller at a specific pH and plug your solenoid into the controller. Since addition of CO2 lowers pH, the controller will turn off when the deadband of the controller hits the number you set. It will turn back on when the pH rises back above the deadband for your setting. With this method, the CO2 level in your tank is essentially constant. I use this method, and have literally not touched my CO2 system in over a year.
There are a couple common ways to measure how much CO2 you have in the tank: either by testing KH and pH and extrapolating on a chart:
Or by using a drop checker, which gives you an accurate (if not exact) measurement of the CO2 level in your tank.
Also, as to the original question, it can kill your fish if levels get too high, and there are horror stories of selenoids getting stuck open and killing all the fish. But this is rare. And it take a lot of CO2 for this to happen. I have heard of people keeping tanks at 50+ppm with no reported effects on fish (recommended is right around 30ppm CO2).
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zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
i have found a few for 50 bucks would this be worth buying or am would it be better to spend a bit more money on one? i dont want to alter my ph to much and screw a bunch of stuff up lol.
I would spend the money if you have to get a proven reliable system. Either the MA957 regulator and sms122 ph by Milwaukee, or a rex grigg system (Welcome to Rex's Guide to Planted Tanks). Worth the peace of mind (don't want one of those horror stories I mentioned). Keep in mind ph altering by co2 addition does not have a dramatic effect on your tank, vs ph swings by adding buffers, which can be very detrimental.
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zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
allright, well im not sure if i can spend that much money. im guessing i will need a regulator or do most come with somthing that will tell me how much?
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zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
well i was going to put it on my 65 G but im a bit concerned becuase i am buying some T5 HO lights for the tank and will need the CO2 to help with algea. my plants have just stopped growing and are getting pretty ugly so im trying to fix all of this.
Shhh ok. Diy would be hard on a 65. For a pressurized system you will need at a minimum:
Regulator
Needle valve
Solenoid
Diffusor (many options; ceramic/glass is easiest in my opinion)
Tubing
Co2 tank
Usually a package will come with everything but the tank and a Diffusor.
Regulator
Needle valve
Solenoid
Diffusor (many options; ceramic/glass is easiest in my opinion)
Tubing
Co2 tank
Usually a package will come with everything but the tank and a Diffusor.
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zach_1_6
Aquarium Advice FINatic
allright i will look for the "package" kind a with these in it, i am new to all this and really love tanks like yours fort384 with the plants and stuff, thanks for the help.
