CO2 24/7 - Why Isn't It Done More?

[plantbrain]

roanm, you need to get a better method to add CO2, it should never take more than 60 min to achieve the proper CO2 level after the device is turned on.

I use a simple limewood air stone placed in the current. This mist is blasted around the tank and allows for excellent dispersal of both dissolved gas and gas(which hits the plants in a pure form that is much more concentrated than dissolve thick aqueous CO2).

regards,
Tom Barr

 

[jazzbass]

Ah... Roan, you're prolly gonna smack me for it... I was just scanning topic headers and my first thought was "CO2 24/7 - why isn't it done more?" and immediately thought... uh how can you do more than 24/7?

:joke:

 

[Captain Hook]

Interesting, thanks for clearing that up for me. I personally inject CO2 24/7.

 

[RTR]

Roan [QUOTE}

I think what I was trying to find out is this: if it takes *less* time to get CO2 to your target level in the morning, then your plants have more daylight hours of optimal CO2 levels. If this holds true, then

a) can CO2 levels be lowered overall?
b) is it better for the plants to have more hours of pearling?

Example: My target level is 25ppm. I shut my CO2 off at night and it takes me 6 hours during the day to get the CO2 to that target level. This level produces some really awesome pearling for 4-6 hours a day.

a) If I do NOT shut the CO2 off at night, then it only takes me 1-2 hours to get the CO2 to my target level and therefore the plants could very well have 10 hours of awesome pearling.

b) If I do not shut the CO2 off at night, and set my target level for 20ppm instead of 25ppm, then my plants could have 10 hours of good pearling.

If a) and b) are true then is b) equal to shutting the CO2 off at night and getting 4 hours of awesome pearling?

Obviously, from the above, I'd rather run at lower CO2 levels on some of my tanks. My Boesemani males will start to thread if I push CO2 past 25ppm and they will all appear stressed at 30ppm. The duboulayi and parva bows in my other tank show no stress at all until the CO2 gets to 35-40ppm.

Roan[/QUOTE]

Agree w/TB's comment after that post of yours. You are not asking about dark-cycle CO2, you are concerned about efficiency of dissolving CO2 in your tank. If it takes hours for your delivery sytem to get your CO2 up to target level (whatever that may be), there is a problem with the system. Go to CO2 reactors, purchased or DIY. I also agree with TB that if it takes more than 30-60 minutes to get up to target, the system is lacking. Either the delivery itself or the blow-off rate or both need attention. Scale of the delivery device/rate of gas flow/loss of CO2 from the tank all are part of that. Each can be controlled by the hobbyist.

 

[plantbrain]

RTR,

as you mentioned:
If it takes more than 1 hour to get the CO2 ppm to the proper level, you need to find another better more responsive method to get CO2 into the tank.
Basically more flow and a better more efficient CO2 delivery method.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[Roan Art]

Agree w/TB's comment after that post of yours. You are not asking about dark-cycle CO2, you are concerned about efficiency of dissolving CO2 in your tank. If it takes hours for your delivery sytem to get your CO2 up to target level (whatever that may be), there is a problem with the system. Go to CO2 reactors, purchased or DIY. I also agree with TB that if it takes more than 30-60 minutes to get up to target, the system is lacking. Either the delivery itself or the blow-off rate or both need attention. Scale of the delivery device/rate of gas flow/loss of CO2 from the tank all are part of that. Each can be controlled by the hobbyist.

Tom/Robert --

THANK YOU! You know, unless I am blind as a bat, there is NOTHING in the stickies and stuff that addresses this. Nowhere did I ever see how long it should take for the CO2 to hit target, so I had no clue that my system was inefficient. I assumed everyone's system was like this, hence my contorted series of questions

As a matter of fact, when I first started a few months back I mentioned that my pH dropped to X in an hour and someone told me that was too fast! No one contradicted it, so I assumed they were correct. My bad. I should have questioned it again and/or done more research.

IMO, this needs to be added to the CO2 stickies or article or whatever. I mean, it's important and a good measure of how efficient your system is -- assuming you're not blasting CO2, that is.

I do have this doo-hicky thing that attaches to my Eheim filter and allows you to put O2 in the intake tube. I assume it can be used for CO2 (although it might degrade it). If anyone knows what the hoo-hah I'm talking about and how this thingy goes on, could you give me an idea?

What about those membrane diffusers? Any good? If all else fails, I'm just going to make a DIY reactor.

Man, I feel like a huge dang-blasted moron.

Roan

 

[RTR]

IMHO, reactors are the way to go. But I confess that I have not tried TB's CO2 mist technique yet. Reactors are easy DIY.

Hey, I was analyst for years - I was paid to identify the problems, not necessarily to answer the questions being asked.

 

[Roan Art]

IMHO, reactors are the way to go. But I confess that I have not tried TB's CO2 mist technique yet. Reactors are easy DIY.

I'm re-trying the mist thing right now. I realized I had the CO2 hooked up wrong the first time I tried it Hoping this works 'cause I already have the pump. If not, I'll make a reactor.

Hey, I was analyst for years - I was paid to identify the problems, not necessarily to answer the questions being asked.

ROFL! You too?

I was a Network Analyst for a few years. OS/2 and Token Ring! That's how long ago it was

Roan

 

[nursie]

I will agree that there is not a good start from scratch CO2-for-dummies instruction manuel...or at least I've not found it yet. Heck, I'm gonna have to read this through a few times before it all sinks in.
There is a lot out there...it's written at the level that the writer assumes the reader has some knowledge. Most of us aquire enough info to get started, get into trouble and yell Help!! thank goodness we know where to yell, lol!

 

[quenton]

I have a 65g with 4 2Litre bottles driving it. Two go into a hagen ladder, which then overflows (undesolved bubbles and bubbles that break our of the laddr) into an old fiz-factory box -- an inverted rectagular box thing that provides lots of surfact area to diffuse -- the inverted box stays pretty full.

The other two 2L bottles drive one of those long blue aerator things and it runs about 5 streams of tiny bubbles most of the time.

I may have to shut down one of the 2L bottles as my CO2 is a bit high -- roughly in the 32 to 35ppm range, I want more like 25 to 30.