10g tank and low CO2 ppm

scottracy

scottracy

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Jan 3, 2004
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I have a 10g planted tank that I have been running the Natural Plant Grow CO2 System on for a little over 2 weeks. My CO2 is very low at 7 ppm. The bubble ladder seems to be working fine as long as I keep it clean. Often a white film will appear on the rungs but keeping it clear is not a big deal. Is this white film normal? I assume it is. I think my problem is due to my AC mini HOB filter. I keep the water level high and the flow on the low setting to minimize surface agitation. Maybe I should invest in an internal filter. Can anyone recommend a good and reliable internal filter? Maybe Fluval or Duetto?

Scott
 
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I'm using the same bubble ladder on my 29 gal., and my co2 is noramally around 15-20 ppm, and I have a Whisper 20-40 HOB filter. I would think that with a 10 gal. tank, that amount should be easily attainable. How often does it form a bubble?

Oh yea, I run my bubble ladder with 2 2L soda bottles. Some things bout the mix that I have found out:
More yeast=more bubbles(which is more co2)
more sugar= Longer lasting mix

Also, to extend my bottles, I add about a cup of sugar to each weekly, and when I do that, the fizz like mad for a few hours, and then return to normal.

Are you using the packets that came with it, or do you just mix your own stuff?
How long have you been using the mix?
 
You should be fine continuing to use an AC mini, as long as you minimize the surface agitation (as you already have)

With a ladder, you should be easily getting more than 7 ppm, perhaps there are not enough bubbles being produced. 3 weeks, afterall, is stretching the life of the yeast.

You could look into making your own DIY CO2 mixture, and it'll be effective the same stuff
 
Scottracy, the reason your ppm is low is probably because the mix is old. Before investing in a new filter, I would mix up a new batch and see how you do. Try changing it at least every two weeks, measuring the ppm periodically so you can get a feel for how long it lasts.
And yes, that white film is normal :)
 
Scott, when I still had an HOB on my 33g, I found that even with wy water level up above the outflow I couldn't get CO2 about 10-15ppm. However, when I added a little bit of filter wool, tucked into the filter media in the filter and hanging down just to the water surface, I could cut down surface agitation well enough to get CO2 up to 25-30ppm no problems.

Definitely try a new batch. The recipe I'm using gets me very strong output for about a week and a half, I could stretch it out more if I wanted to, but I'm happy with the results.
1c. sugar
2 tsp. protein mix
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tbsp. molasses
sometimes a bit of trace element mix (but that's my own addition to the original recipe)
enough water to bring the liquid to about 4" from the top of a 2L pop bottle.

I run 2 bottles on the tank and have one spare. Every 10 days approx. I syphon off the top liquid of the spare bottle and add a new mix. The next day I swap it for the older of the two bottles on the tank. Every so often I toss out a little of the built up yeast to keep the output levels a little more reasonable.

This is for a 33g tank, a single bottle should be plenty for a 10g.
 
the hagen ladder is useless IME, maybe if you have it in a high flow area, it will do something. If you see all those bubbles passing through the ladder and going to the surface, then you know alot of co2 is lost. Feed the bubbles to the intake of the filter, you'll be happier.
 
I have great success using a bubble ladder, 2 liter bottle, and HOB filter in my 20. If the surface is right at the fliter outlet, you shouldn't have too much agitation. I place my ladder right underneath the filter outlet. I try for a higher bubble rate of about 2/sec; by the time they get to the top of the ladder, they're almost completely dissolved. As others have said, I think your yeast mix is too old. Try mixing your own and see how it works, the recipes others have posted are all very good. I aim for a faster production (which means shorter lifetime) in my mixes, to get the higher bubble rate.
 
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