CO2 injection's impact on oxygen levels

[Luananeko]

I've been planning on upgrading to using CO2 in my 75 gallon tank, but I wasn't sure how injecting CO2 would affect the oxygen levels... Normally I run a 20 inch bubble wall 24/7, but I know I would need to turn that off while the lights and CO2 are running. Would the lack of bubble wall be made up for by the increased oxygen production by the plants? Or is there some other way to keep the oxygen levels high without gassing out the CO2?

I ask because I have a hillstream loach that has higher oxygen requirements than your average fish and I just want to double check that he'll still have his needs met when I make the switch... I'm guessing he should still be fine, but I'd rather not put a lot of money into a CO2 system first just to find out he's struggling in the new setup.

 

[rkilling1]

My aquarium gets saturated with O2. IE there is so much O2 being produced that it bubbles up to the surface. You can't get that kind of O2 in a tank with a bubble wall.

My concern would be during the later hours of the night and how much O2 is left. Shouldn't be all consumed by that time, but you could always run the bubble wall at night when the CO2 is no longer needed.

 

[Luananeko]

My aquarium gets saturated with O2. IE there is so much O2 being produced that it bubbles up to the surface. You can't get that kind of O2 in a tank with a bubble wall.

My concern would be during the later hours of the night and how much O2 is left. Shouldn't be all consumed by that time, but you could always run the bubble wall at night when the CO2 is no longer needed.

Awesome, that's what I was hoping would be the answer. The loach should be even happier with the CO2 then! I was definitely planning on keeping the bubble wall going when the lights turn off both for the extra oxygen and for the overall look (it's an LED one, looks really neat when the lights turn off).

 

[CorallineAlgae]

If you want to be sure there is plenty of O2 in the tank in the day just keep plenty of plants. A load of plants will create plenty of oxygen! Good water flow will help, too.

 

[Luananeko]

If you want to be sure there is plenty of O2 in the tank in the day just keep plenty of plants. A load of plants will create plenty of oxygen! Good water flow will help, too.

Yep, no worries on not having enough plants You can see pics of the tank in it's current state over on this thread: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f59/hello-from-beaverton-or-206698.html

I'm hoping the CO2 will really bring out the colors of the reddish plants I have, plus help my dwarf baby tears really start to carpet.

 

[rkilling1]

Yep, no worries on not having enough plants You can see pics of the tank in it's current state over on this thread: http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f59/hello-from-beaverton-or-206698.html

I'm hoping the CO2 will really bring out the colors of the reddish plants I have, plus help my dwarf baby tears really start to carpet.

Sounds like you know what you are doing. I would suggest you pick up a drop checker and calibrated 4dKH solution prior to injecting the CO2.

 

[TheNamelessPoet]

amazing tank btw

 

[Luananeko]

amazing tank btw

Thanks! It took a few months of hunting on Aquabid and Ebay to find all the plant types Ithought looked cool, but it's been fun seeing it all come together