Is CO2 worth it?

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emmie943

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Feb 17, 2017
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22
I've seen a lot of support for the use of CO2 in freshwater but have been wondering if it really makes that much of a difference. I'm sure that it encourages plant growth and provides optimal conditions to get big and healthy plants. Is the same kind of growth achievable with out CO2 along with some extra time (and the propped ferts and lighting)? I haven't seen anyone conduct a comparison experiment so I'm reaching out to the community for your personal experiences. In your opinion is CO2 worth the extra time, hassle and price?
 
Depends on what your goals are and the equipment you are using. If you are using a light fixture that produces medium to high light, then it is an absolute must. If you are running low or low medium lighting, then you probably could get by without it.
For me, yes it is worth it. CO2 systems can vary greatly in price; budget systems can work without breaking the bank. I ran an inexpensive DIY CO2 system for a year and the results were night and day with some of the plants I was growing. They (broad leaf chain swords in particular) went from barely growing to outgrowing my tank.
 
Depends on what your goals are and the equipment you are using. If you are using a light fixture that produces medium to high light, then it is an absolute must. If you are running low or low medium lighting, then you probably could get by without it.
For me, yes it is worth it. CO2 systems can vary greatly in price; budget systems can work without breaking the bank. I ran an inexpensive DIY CO2 system for a year and the results were night and day with some of the plants I was growing. They (broad leaf chain swords in particular) went from barely growing to outgrowing my tank.



Thanks for the info. So far I'm considering trying out the DIY system first. My one concern is having it run at night. Would having an air pump run at night oxygenate the water enough or did you just shut it off every night? I know some use a solenoid valve but that seems to defeat the purpose of keeping things DIY and cheap.
 
You could put an air pump on a timer. The actual CO2 produced is not very much so I did not bother with that and let it run 24/7.
You would only use a solenoid with a citric acid based setup and never with yeast. Or else BOOM! Yes, it would drive up the costs a bit.
 
how large is your tank? Id say if its under a 30 a DIY might get you by a bit. It will be annoying since you really never get the same results twice.
You could build a DIY rig with some cheap parts and a paintball tank, I did and used it for a while on my new setup until I moved my real one over.
I tried DIY for a while with no real result difference on my 29. When I decided to shift over to pressurized it was a world of difference. You can buy second hand solenoids on bargain sites pretty cheap.
 
I've done both DIY and pressurized. Pressurized is fantastic. My spouse built our system. The Barr Report has a list of part numbers if you build it yourself.
 
CO2 is not an absolute must for a high light tank.

For example, this is my old 55g tank that was grown under 4 t5ho bulbs and with high doses of Excel for a carbon source and EI ferts.
HVKc5E7.jpg


There are absolutely benefits to using co2, but it is also a LOT more work. The plants grow noticeably faster with co2 supplementation compared to Excel. This means that you will absolutely need to prune your plants more frequently to keep them under control (Think weekly prunings and replanting). If you are running low light then I wouldn't bother with co2.

If you want to run DIY carbon then I would suggest running an airstone on a timer when the lights are off to decrease the chances of gassing out your fish.

If you don't want to run co2 then that is fine as well. Both ways can yield excellent results.
 
I prefer to have CO2 because the plant growth is awesome. Alas, pruning plants is an absolute necessity.
 
CO2 is not an absolute must for a high light tank.



For example, this is my old 55g tank that was grown under 4 t5ho bulbs and with high doses of Excel for a carbon source and EI ferts.

HVKc5E7.jpg




There are absolutely benefits to using co2, but it is also a LOT more work. The plants grow noticeably faster with co2 supplementation compared to Excel. This means that you will absolutely need to prune your plants more frequently to keep them under control (Think weekly prunings and replanting). If you are running low light then I wouldn't bother with co2.



If you want to run DIY carbon then I would suggest running an airstone on a timer when the lights are off to decrease the chances of gassing out your fish.



If you don't want to run co2 then that is fine as well. Both ways can yield excellent results.



@mebbid, tank is awesome.
 
CO2 is not an absolute must for a high light tank.

For example, this is my old 55g tank that was grown under 4 t5ho bulbs and with high doses of Excel for a carbon source and EI ferts.
HVKc5E7.jpg


There are absolutely benefits to using co2, but it is also a LOT more work. The plants grow noticeably faster with co2 supplementation compared to Excel. This means that you will absolutely need to prune your plants more frequently to keep them under control (Think weekly prunings and replanting). If you are running low light then I wouldn't bother with co2.

If you want to run DIY carbon then I would suggest running an airstone on a timer when the lights are off to decrease the chances of gassing out your fish.

If you don't want to run co2 then that is fine as well. Both ways can yield excellent results.

great tank.... we also forget its speculated a good CO2 source also helps in algae control. Its thought that using the CO2 with a good light source helps plants out compete algae for nutrients. In my opinion (plus from what Ive read) it DEF helps in controlling BB algae. I know when my tank started running out this time I let it slip a while just milking the tank for whatever CO2 was left and my BB algae started getting out of control. This has happened in the past as well and usually upping the co2 for a bit gets it back in control and lets you trim it off.


Black Brush Algae (BBA) - How to Kill it | ScapeFu047 - ScapeFu

"Does CO2 deficiency or inconsistency lead to black brush algae (BBA)?
Yes, but this isn’t specific to BBA. Inconsistent or deficient CO2 will cause an imbalance in the golden equilibrium that will cause any algae to grow, not just BBA. So, although this is widely thought to be a cause of BBA outbreaks, it’s not totally correct."

heres mine with co2. Of course now Im fighting a bit of BB since I let my co2 get so low.
Thinking of getting some flying foxes for it.

95775-albums14649-picture71019.jpg
 
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