Too much CO2

[wildroseofky]

I installed my CO2 indicator three days ago. It went from dark blue to green in a couple of hours. Today it was green in the morning but jumped to yellow while I was out. Yellow is supposed to mean I have too much CO2. Tank inhabitants seem fine but I would feel safer with it back in the green zone. I slowed down the flow to 3 bubbles per minute. I did have it running without a bubble counter and the flow control wide open. Finally set up a bubble counter and reduced the flow to 3 bpm. This is a diy setup. I did a pwc and lowered the water level for more circulation. I also vacuumed the substrate with a battery powered vacuum that filters the water back into the tank. Neat little thing. The indicator has gotten lighter yellow. It was more dark tan. I only have another 2 hours of lights on. Should I go ahead and shut off the CO2?

 

[parrottbay]

I dont think you could have too much co2 haha unless you have fish and shrimp

 

[wildroseofky]

I have fish, shrimp, and snails. I changed out my indicator solution because it never went back to green even after 8 hours of no CO2. It is green right now and I have the CO2 turned down to 3-5 bpm. More bubbles when the day warms up. I also turned the flow control down half way. Thinking I should have put the bubble counter after the flow control instead of before it. Will change it when I get a minute.

 

[Zimmanski]

Do you mean bubbles per second? 3 bps is probably too much for your tank, but 3 bpm is close to nothing. If bps I would slow it to 1 or 2 bps and do your best to keep the drop checker in the green. Most people turn the co2 on or off about an hour before they turn their lights on or off

 

[phin]

My DIY CO2 keeps my drop checker in the yellow, appx 40-45ppm CO2. Your CO2 level based on drop checker method is an estimation & without a pH controller you won't be exact in determining your CO2 concentration. As long as your fish aren't showing signs of distress (gasping at the surface, sitting motionless, etc) due to lack of oxygen you needn't worry about your drop checker being yellow.

 

[wildroseofky]

I counted the bubbles that came out in one minute. I have it set up with the CO2 tubing run directly into the top of an extra power head that was for an underground filter. That way the impeller chops up the CO2 into fine bubbles. I attached a sponge to the outtake to slow down the water flow. It was pushing everything to one side of my tank and the fish would swim in front of it and get knocked across the tank. They kept doing that for some reason. I have a diverter valve attached to it that I can open or close to control how much CO2 gets to the power head. With the valve wide open I get CO2 bubbles attached to everything. The moss and plants end up covered in bubbles. I also have a tile structure that gets bubbles trapped under it and they stay there all day. I turned the flow control down to half. Still get plenty of bubbles but they just don't cover every surface.

All my fish are fine and I swear my plants grew while I was gone today. The moss has 1/2 inch of light green growth and one of my pennyworts is almost to the top of the tank.

 

[aqua_chem]

How big is this tank? Are you using 4 dKH solution? Are your fish showing any signs?

 

[wildroseofky]

My tank is 29 gallons. I bought an Azoo CO2 drop checker. The instructions say to mix it with tank water. I have been reading that you really need to use 4dhk solution but I do not have a scale to measure precise amounts of stuff. I found one set of instruction that gives measurements in ml. I do have syringes that measure in ml. I was wondering if that would be accurate enough. Here are pictures of my current setup.

 

[aqua_chem]

You really have to use 4 dKH water. You can find it for sale online in a few places.


EDIT: I would also use the low range pH drop solution from your test kit rather than the solution that comes with the kit.

 

[wildroseofky]

Thanks for the info. I will advertise for some in the classifieds when it is closer to payday.

 

[parrottbay]

I am super glad you decided to do the CO2, Definitely believe you wont be let dont by just the difference that it will make! Even without high light or specialized ferts!