Dosing Liquid carbon - Lights on or off?

[JoeNut]

Hello,

My first post here, i've been dosing liquid carbon daily to my 90L tank for the last 2 weeks, i can't say i've noticed much of a difference so far, dosing at 1.5ml as per the instructions on the bottle.

My question is, does it make a difference what time i inject the carbon, when the lights are on or if they're off?
I have been doing it in a morning before they come on, but not actually sure why.

Any advice would be appreciated,
Cheers,

 

[Ashenwelt]

Supposed to last at least 24 hours so I am also interested in this.

 

[Fresh2o]

From what I understand, Glutaraldehyde (or glut) and products that contain it or a variation of it (API CO2 Booster, Seachem Excel, etc) are light labile and will breakdown over time after introduced into the tank. It is recommended that these products be stored in a container that protects them from light. Given that, it's probably best added at the beginning of the light period.
Then again, if light is truly the cause of its degradation, then it makes sense that adding the product when the lights are off would be fine since it would be stable in the darkened tank.
However, it is a highly reactive substance and mild algaecide, so IMO, there are other factors other than light that cause it to breakdown.


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[gemach7]

I know with co2 injection it is supposed to be turned on a little before the lights go on, so that carbon is available as soon as photosynthesis begins. With that logic I don't see why couldn't be added when dark.
Or perhaps twice a day at half doses? Once I the pm to have available for morning and once in the am to have for rest of photo period.
I honestly wish there was a test for this product in the water column so could know the optimal dosage for my tank and its needs, but I think I'm nitpicking and probably why I use Co2 gas lol.


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[Goldguru]

you are dosing 1.5 ml for whole tank?
directions say 1 mil per 38L so your min dose would be 2.3 mil.
I've been using 4 mil in 140L & it works well.
did mine in AM but I am not religious about it.
posts I researched claimed to dose @ 2-2.5 times recommended dose for best results,so in your case that would be ~ 4-6 mils per day.
weekly water changes are a must regardless of how much you use.(1x,2x,3x)
I also read some dosing @ 4x label dose.
Glutaraldehyde is not a carbon source - Aquarium Plants - Barr Report

also it is important to BALANCE light,micro's & macro.
Carbon may not be your limiting factor,closer you can get to understanding what is your limiting factor the better overall results will be.
above link does some of the chemistry associated with using.

 

[Delapool]

you are dosing 1.5 ml for whole tank?

directions say 1 mil per 38L so your min dose would be 2.3 mil.

I've been using 4 mil in 140L & it works well.

did mine in AM but I am not religious about it.

posts I researched claimed to dose @ 2-2.5 times recommended dose for best results,so in your case that would be ~ 4-6 mils per day.

weekly water changes are a must regardless of how much you use.(1x,2x,3x)

I also read some dosing @ 4x label dose.

Glutaraldehyde is not a carbon source - Aquarium Plants - Barr Report



also it is important to BALANCE light,micro's & macro.

Carbon may not be your limiting factor,closer you can get to understanding what is your limiting factor the better overall results will be.

above link does some of the chemistry associated with using.

Excellent article - seems to confirm my thinking that glut doesn't add much CO2 at all (and even if it did, it's just a one off dose daily). Certainly better than nothing and I keep using it just for the algaecide benefits but injected CO2 is the way to go.

 

[IllusionX]

You know, fish also produce CO2. So it really is all about balancing things out.

My 25G don't need any CO2 while my 55G needs 10-15ml excel flourish daily.

 

[Bert2oo1]

I can't see why the plants would need carbon when the lights are off as they gas off there carbon over night rather than take it in. I'd say dosing before lights on is definitely the way to go


30g planted, 90g Oscar tank

 

[JoeNut]

Thanks for the replies everyone, it certainly seems a point of contention then as some say prior, some say during.

I will up my dosage slightly however, cheers.