I'm an idiot...(DIY c02)

[exactionfigure]

Thanks, I plan on using 3 check valves for sure.

That was reinforced yesterday when I was taking the air stone out of the tank (preparing for my plants to arrive) and I got distracted and left the airline tube in the tank I came back about 20 mins later and a little over a gallon of water had been sucked out on to my rug.

I’m still soaking it up with towels!

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I agree, the plants should produce an abundance of oxygen for the fish to use all night while the lights are out.

Correction.....

Plants produce O2 during the day, but use O2 at night. They take in O2 at night, just like the fish do. So if you are heavily planted, you WILL need surface aggitation at night. I learned the hard way and lost 3 roseline sharks due to no O2. The other roselines were surfacing for air, as well as the other fish. The tetras didn't seem to be too bothered by the lower O2 levels, but the plecos and roselines did.

 

[exactionfigure]

Ahh, I didn't know that plants used 02 at night
I will see how it goes (my light and all the supplies come in on Tuesday and my plants come in on Thursday) so we'll see what happens, I'll check it out after cutting the light for a while and see how my fish are doing before I go to sleep.

The penguin 200 creates a bit of surface aggravation, if I need more I will buy another power head (I just made a diffuser out of the one I had) and use it at night.

-Matt

 

[7Enigma]

Ahh, I didn't know that plants used 02 at night
I will see how it goes (my light and all the supplies come in on Tuesday and my plants come in on Thursday) so we'll see what happens, I'll check it out after cutting the light for a while and see how my fish are doing before I go to sleep.

The penguin 200 creates a bit of surface aggravation, if I need more I will buy another power head (I just made a diffuser out of the one I had) and use it at night.

-Matt

You'll be fine without extra agitation. Most bad stories regarding fish death at night with CO2 is on larger tanks that use canister filters and have a pretty good seal where the canopy meets the tank. In situations with HOB filters, even with the water level very high (creating very little splashing) there will be enough gas transfer to oxygenate the water. The ONLY time I'd be worried about low O2 levels with a HOB is when you do a blackout. During this time (if you are sealing the tank in with something not permeable to air) it doesn't matter what form of filtration you have, because you will slowly deplete your O2 supply. I did a 3 day blackout and was concerned for my fish, but fortunately they all made it with no noticeable damage. Next time I'll be getting an air pump for sure.