Temporary CO2 effective?

[vespasianus]

I have a low-light setup in my 20 gal tank right now, about 1.3wpg. What I was thinking is running some sort of DIY CO2 or one of those cheap reactor+diffuser systems for a while just to get some good growth, help me with spreading my bacopa carolinensis into a good mat and overpower any algae that would try and grow in my tank. My question is, if I run CO2 for a while and get good results, then I take it away would the plants crash or die? Would the reverse in growth, coloration etc be basically so big the whole thing is pointless?

 

[vespasianus]

I know its kind of a dumbbell question but you know money is hard to come by these days lol. Even a DIY can mean lunch for a whole week XD, especially where I'm from where we have the most expensive electric bill of the whole Americas. I'm just trying to see if it will be worth it.

 

[Fresh2o]

I'm not sure if your plants would crash but you should expect reduced growth if you start and then discontinue using CO2. Which could be a good thing depending on how much maintenance you are willing to do.
I struggled with dwarf sag with dual t5NO lighting. Switched to LED (Finnex Fugeray) and growth improved quite a bit. Added DIY CO2 and now the dwarf sag is taking over. The B. caroliniana is trimmed at least every two weeks. At one trimming I had about 40 3-5" stems. I don't use a reactor; drilled a small hole near the intake grill of an AquaClear 50 HOB intake tube and run the silicone tubing into that.
So far DIY has been pretty inexpensive; use about 2 cups of sugar every 2-3 weeks.

 

[jetajockey]

DIY co2 is a totally viable option. I'm actually doing a test with DIY co2 on my 120 this weekend. I'll make a thread on it.

 

[dwayne.aycock]

CO2 has a short term effect for plants when running, but is also affects PH. I run a pressurized CO2 system with a PH controller. I use a powerhead as a diffusor for my CO2. I also run a PH controller that is attached to the solnoid of my CO2 tank. I keep my PH at 6.5 as I am keeping Discus fish. When the PH rises above 6.5 the PH controller kicks on the CO2. When the PH drops back to 6.5, the PH controller kicks the CO2 off. A bit long winded I know, I am just trying to illustrate that CO2 will cause your PH to fall. If you are using CO2, keep a check on the PH as well as the plants. The smaller the bubbles (diffusion) the better the absorption by plants. Your problem will be consistency as you are not using a pressurized system. Once you find a happy medium between plants growth / health and PH change you will be good to go. As an added benefit, I suggest running an airstone at night when the plants are using O2. That way you fish or BB will not be starved for O2 at night.
Good luck! D

 

[mohican]

Co2 is usually the limiting factor in planted tanks. Adding it then taking it away will cause the plants to sort of "revert" themselves back to the way they were before. Your pH really isn't a factor because your not actually changing the chemistry of current water. That's why pH swings caused by CO2 don't really affect fish, but rather plants. I would suggest if you add some sort of CO2, I would stick with it, whether DIY, pressurized, or liquid.