CO2 on fish?

[isaac newton]

I turned off my light for about 4 hours and came back.. What are the signes that your fish are sufficating or under deep stress due to lack of O2? Ive noticed that the gills of my neons are much reder then usuall.. Is this a sign of stress due to a lack of O2?

[djlen]

If you are using CO2 at too high a concentration you could be seriously stressing your fish. Check you CO2 level and if it's over 30 ppm cut down on it.
Len

[isaac newton]

where is a table so i can see how much co2 is in my water.. I remember its somewhere in the krib

Also sidenote. Do you think if im defusing about 85% of the co2 when i turn off my lights i should stop the co2 defusion and vent the co2 gas? (im using a 2 litter bottle, and have a 10 gal tank

[Matak]

Try the links on this (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=5351&highlight=CO2+AND+chart) thread. You will find excellent info on CO2 plus a great looking chart.

If I read Q. #2 right, you can disipate CO2 easily at night by pumping air through an airstone. This will balance CO2 levels in the tank to ambient levels. See My Tank Specs (http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=2943) for the on/off times I use.

[djlen]

See what your pH is when you turn the lights on in the morning. If the CO2 calculates out to 30ppm or higher, you'll need to gas off some CO2 during the night either with an air stone or in some manner increasing your water surface agitation. Some people who have HOB filters like AquaClears turn the water volume up at night and back down in the morning when the plants start using the CO2 again.
What is the kH of your water?
Len

[carpguy]

Lack of O2 usually produces browner gills, not redder. Red indicates nicely oxygenated blood or inflammation (parasites?), not CO2 poisoning. Anything else out of the ordinary?

It'd be good to get a level on your CO2, but I think its unlikely you're cranking past 30ppm with DIY.

[isaac newton]

Ok this is what i got.. I dont know my Kh I dont have a kit and i asked the lady at petco if they had one, they dont.. So they only gave me a ph test... Here is what i have in my tank.. I have a 10 gallon tank with onyx sand substrate... Its about 1.5 inches thick from the bottom of my tank.. I tested the water.. One is a tap sample and the other is tank water... My tap water is at 7.9.. My tank water is about 7.2 (With CO2 Injection) ... What is the buffering power of onyx sand?

[superjohnny]

Onyx sand does buffer your water a bit, but that would cause your PH to go up, not down.

[isaac newton]

Super, oops forgot to mention that ph of 7.2 was a drop from the 7.8 due to the fact im injecting co2 into the water.Edited it :)

[TomFromStLouis]

You need both KH and pH to calculate CO2 concentrations, since the graph has one variable on one axis and, you guessed it, the second variable on the other. Off hand it does not sound like a big drop. meaning CO2 is probably not too high.

[isaac newton]

Could u give me a estimation on my kh???? I have onyx sand for a substrate

[djlen]

Estimating kH is a dangerous thing to do, especially in a 10 gallon tank. Due to the small size, a 10 is really susceptible to change in water conditions especially when adding something like CO2. I suggest you find a LFS that does have a kH test kit. It's important that you know certain parameters of your water. Tetra Test makes a master kit which contains test kits for pH, kH, Ammonia, Nitrites, gH(general hardness) and Nitrates. Many of these will be usefull to you down the road and if you buy them all -in-one you'll save quite a bit of cash.
Len