several Co2 questions.

[Blitz]

Hello, Looking for a bit of assistance on Co2 injection,

My current setup is a 55 gallon FW ,SA cichlid tank, lightly planted, but looking to add more plants.
I'm injecting Co2 during the day with lighting on a timer, Lighting is a full spectrum fluval LED setup.
The Co2 is currently being diffused through a ceramic, stone, aimed at a 700 ghp power head which is cutting the co2 bubbles and forcing them into the return paths of my canister and then my hob filter. Not having a degree in chemistry, I'm really just trying to find out if it is necessary to move the co2 bubbles all over the tank or, is the trip from the diffused air stone passing through the water enough to get the co2 into the water column, i'm running a drop checker on both sides of my tank, I'm getting a green reading (4dhk solution)about 2 hours after the system starts up. The issue for me is, to be as efficient with the c02, but I'm not liking the micro bubbles all throughout the water column. I realize a reactor would probably fix this, but I'm just curious if there are any other methods and if I'm just doing overkill forcing the bubbles everywhere.

Thanks for any advise.

 

[fort384]

You are using a method that at least used to be referred to as the "mist method". It is one of the most effective forms of CO2 injection, as not only do the tiny bubbles have a lot of surface area with which to dissolve the CO2 into the water column, but some of those microbubbles actually get caught under plant leaves are are absorbed directly through the plant leaves. I did it for awhile, and never had better plant health and growth. However, I got rid of it after a few months as the microbubbles in the water column were unsightly enough for me to sacrifice some of the efficiency for a clearer tank.

Try turning the PH off and see how your drop checkers do.

Also, is the CO2 system on a separate timer? You want it in the green area as the lights come on, not 2 hours after the lights come on, for maximum benefit. Also, ime there is nothing harmful to your fish by going a little towards lime green or greenish-yellow (assuming you are using 4dKH reference solution). It seems to have some positive benefit for plants.

 

[Blitz]

fort384,

Thank you for the reply, right now the co2 is on the same timer as the lighting, I could change that onto a different timer, although I thought the drop checkers are not really reading real time?, even with the 4 dhk solution?

I'm not sure what you mean regarding turning the ph off? I'm not using a ph controller, my water out of the tap is between 7.01 and 7.03, at various times during the day when the co2 is running, I've tested and the ph never drops below 6.7, so it's a -.06 swing worst case scenario.

I'm trying to err on the side of fish health, I'm new to planted tanks and probably doing everything I should not do regarding the type of fish I'm stocking, like I said, it's a South American Cichlid tank, but they seem to have no interest in the plants except a nibble here and there, actually, I'll take that back, they have no interest in the broad leafed plants, I had a rotilia, red foil, (sp?) they absolutely messed with it until it was destroyed, but the rest of the plants have been in there well over a month and I recently added the co2, to keep the plants healthy and try an keep the algae down as well, I'm now a firm believer in , it's definitely a much better look then plastic or silk plants.

But now, the issue of the water clarity vs getting the co2 to all of the plants in the tank, I was wondering if I was just over thinking it by pushing all the bubbles, or if the co2 would still leach into the water on their rise to the surface and be enough of a benefit to the plants that way. Or if there was another method of delivery. I've seen some information about using the return of your canister, but I don't see that being any different then what I'm doing now, unless the co2 somehow totally dissolves in the water and enters the tank in non bubble form? again I'm not a chemist, so I don't even know if that's even possible.

 

[fort384]

PH = Power Head

 

[Blitz]

Lol.....DOH, Thanks.