You see a lot of DIY Co2 plans and installation instructions. You see the charts and how to tell how much DIY Co2 is in your aquarium. But you don’t see very much on how to adjust it and keep it regulated.
My installation advice is,
Firstly, NO HOB filters will work. If you use a HOB filter you will not be able to get Co2 into the water faster then it is leaving because HOB filters disturb the surface of the tank to much and you’ll be wasting your time. How to get the CO2 efficiently into your tank is the tricky part. You can buy a proper diffuser that requires a powerhead to work. Or you can have the bubbles sucked into the intake of a canister filter. A canister filter like the Eheim classic series (don’t use its splash bar). The exhaust must be below the waters surface, pointed just about straight and about 1 inch below the surface. Also you need to make at least a twin bottle system. Start with the one bottle and two weeks later hookup the second one. Change one every two weeks. Bakers yeast produces Co2 for about 3 weeks in a 2L jar.
Once you have your Co2 going wait for 2 days and then measure the tanks PH with a “low” range PH test kit (6.0-7.6) and KH with a KH test kit. Once you have the numbers look at a Co2 chart like this one. Don’t EVER put any chemicals in your tank; many can affect the test kits accuracy.
If you get a PH reading of 7.6 and a KH of 5 you’ll have a result of about 3.8ppm and therefore something is wrong with the set-up. You have to much surface disturbance, the C02 is not effectively been defused into the water or you’re not generating enough Co2 to begin with. If you go the canister route you should not be getting any bubbles coming out of the exhaust after the end of the first day. If you went with the powerhead solution the bubbles should virtually vanish seconds after exiting the powerhead soon after the first day. If these two things are right then lower the tanks surface disturbances, and after 2-3 hours, test again. Once you start getting a real reading say in the 10-15ppm you can leave it alone. 10-15ppm will make a visible difference to your plants in about a week. If you up it to 25-30ppm and have enough nutrients in the tank, your plants will go nuts! You’ll be able to see growth almost daily.
Do your water changes religiously 15-25% (depending on fish load) every week, same day, keep the fish load low early on until the tank starts to really green up. The serious planted tank needs the plants to take priority over the fish. Fish are a means of Nitrate production and you only want enough fish to produce just enough Nitrates to feed the plants, any more and algae will be more then happy to use them up for you! I believe that if you’re willing to take good care of your plants in this manner you can have a lot more fish in the tank then would otherwise be possible. A well planted Co2 injected Aquarium is a Nitrate and Phosphate devouring machine!
My installation advice is,
Firstly, NO HOB filters will work. If you use a HOB filter you will not be able to get Co2 into the water faster then it is leaving because HOB filters disturb the surface of the tank to much and you’ll be wasting your time. How to get the CO2 efficiently into your tank is the tricky part. You can buy a proper diffuser that requires a powerhead to work. Or you can have the bubbles sucked into the intake of a canister filter. A canister filter like the Eheim classic series (don’t use its splash bar). The exhaust must be below the waters surface, pointed just about straight and about 1 inch below the surface. Also you need to make at least a twin bottle system. Start with the one bottle and two weeks later hookup the second one. Change one every two weeks. Bakers yeast produces Co2 for about 3 weeks in a 2L jar.
Once you have your Co2 going wait for 2 days and then measure the tanks PH with a “low” range PH test kit (6.0-7.6) and KH with a KH test kit. Once you have the numbers look at a Co2 chart like this one. Don’t EVER put any chemicals in your tank; many can affect the test kits accuracy.
If you get a PH reading of 7.6 and a KH of 5 you’ll have a result of about 3.8ppm and therefore something is wrong with the set-up. You have to much surface disturbance, the C02 is not effectively been defused into the water or you’re not generating enough Co2 to begin with. If you go the canister route you should not be getting any bubbles coming out of the exhaust after the end of the first day. If you went with the powerhead solution the bubbles should virtually vanish seconds after exiting the powerhead soon after the first day. If these two things are right then lower the tanks surface disturbances, and after 2-3 hours, test again. Once you start getting a real reading say in the 10-15ppm you can leave it alone. 10-15ppm will make a visible difference to your plants in about a week. If you up it to 25-30ppm and have enough nutrients in the tank, your plants will go nuts! You’ll be able to see growth almost daily.
Do your water changes religiously 15-25% (depending on fish load) every week, same day, keep the fish load low early on until the tank starts to really green up. The serious planted tank needs the plants to take priority over the fish. Fish are a means of Nitrate production and you only want enough fish to produce just enough Nitrates to feed the plants, any more and algae will be more then happy to use them up for you! I believe that if you’re willing to take good care of your plants in this manner you can have a lot more fish in the tank then would otherwise be possible. A well planted Co2 injected Aquarium is a Nitrate and Phosphate devouring machine!
