CO2 Injection and effect on PH

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Sirspifalot

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 6, 2009
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Illinois
Ello,
I am in the process of acquiring a 75 gallon aquarium that I wish to plant heavily and will also house several discus. I plan to use some sort of CO2 injection system and will probably go the DIY route. I have been reading a lot about it and I continue to read about PH swing when the concentration of the dissolved CO2 changes. I use Seachem's discus buffer in tank religiously will his be enough buffering ability to keep the PH shift under control? Being that discus are sallys when it comes to PH shift and such I would obviously like to keep in under controll. Any ideas/recomendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks. k bye
 
ph changes caused by co2 injection do not affect the fish. this is because the injection of co2 does not alter the total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water, and in effect, the hardness of your water.

fish can be negatively affected when the ph changes also affect the TDS. the only thing that can harm your fish is that if you inject too much co2 and suffocate your fish by reducing o2 levels
 
DIY co2 on a 75 gal is going to be a royal pain. If you are going to invest in a nice discus tank with heavy plants, you should really look into pressurized co2. There is so much less work involved. The initial investment in co2 seems like a lot, but it is pretty cheap to keep it running once you get it started.
 
I am taking into account that DIY CO2 is difficult but I'm affraid that the pressurized is to expensive for me right now but perhaps in the future I might be able to run one. Is the seachem flourish excel worth a shot? I here good things except that it doesn't really have a good absorption rate.
 
Sirspifalot;2829234;2829234 said:
I am taking into account that DIY CO2 is difficult but I'm affraid that the pressurized is to expensive for me right now but perhaps in the future I might be able to run one. Is the seachem flourish excel worth a shot? I here good things except that it doesn't really have a good absorption rate.
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Yes, Excel is a very good source of carbon and you can get good results. BUT, its not practical on a tank that size. Excel is best used for tanks less than 30g. Even if you were able to get good carbon levels using Excel, it would be insanely expensive. You would be going thru those bottles in no time. You can get a good co2 setup for less than $200, and this would include everything you need. Here's how:

- Milwaukee regulator w/ bubble counter, solenoid, & tubing. < $100 on ebay
- 5 or 10lb co2 bottle: $50-65 on ebay
- DIY Rex Grigg-style co2 reactor: $15-20
- a couple of timers for lights and solenoid: $7 each @ walmart, home depot, lowes, etc

and thats it. thats all you need to run pressurized co2 in your tank. its not expensive as some may think
 
Ok I'm becoming more convince to get the CO2 if my budget permits me. Another question though... About how long would a 10 lb bottle of CO2 last a 75 gallon? I'm assuming that it depends on how heavy the tank is planted and such but how bout a roundabout number or guess eh? Oh and can i steel my brothers paint ball gun tank? (Shhhh don't tell him)

thanks, k bye
 
its hard to say. a lot of it depends on the effeciency of your reactor/diffusor. to give you an idea, a 5lb bottle on my 55g lasts me about 5 months.

also, paintball tanks wont work with a standard regulator. a paintball tank would require a dedicated regulator and this would just end up being a waste of money compared to a standard co2 bottle and regulator
 
Howdy,

First of all, I urge you to rethink the necessity of CO2. My tanks all run fine without, and they are heavily planted. Wisely planted, too, because I chose species accordingly. I once had a professional grade CO2 system on my 80 gal, and it didn't make a difference for me. But either way you go, you'll need good substrate ferts and liquid ferts.

jcardona1;2828958; said:
ph changes caused by co2 injection do not affect the fish. this is because the injection of co2 does not alter the total dissolved solids (TDS) in the water, and in effect, the hardness of your water.

fish can be negatively affected when the ph changes also affect the TDS. the only thing that can harm your fish is that if you inject too much co2 and suffocate your fish by reducing o2 levels
Click to expand...

Any pH changes affect your fish, no matter what. However, your water hardness determines if the CO2 you inject has any effect on pH. Besides, injection of CO2 does not reduce oxygen levels, but excess CO2 causes a decrease of hemoglobin's affinity to oxygen and, thus, causes suffocation.

HarleyK
 
HarleyK;2830931;2830931 said:
Howdy,

First of all, I urge you to rethink the necessity of CO2. My tanks all run fine without, and they are heavily planted. Wisely planted, too, because I chose species accordingly. I once had a professional grade CO2 system on my 80 gal, and it didn't make a difference for me. But either way you go, you'll need good substrate ferts and liquid ferts.



Any pH changes affect your fish, no matter what. However, your water hardness determines if the CO2 you inject has any effect on pH. Besides, injection of CO2 does not reduce oxygen levels, but excess CO2 causes a decrease of hemoglobin's affinity to oxygen and, thus, causes suffocation.

HarleyK
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well everything i have ever read says otherwise about co2 injection and ph changes. according to Rex Grigg, ph changes caused by co2 do not harm the fish for the reasons i stated. your thoughts on this?

14. Since CO2 will cause the pH to go down will this change in pH hurt my fish?

No. Normally in the wild pH changes are caused by changes in the kH (carbonate hardness) and TDS (Total Dissolved Solids) in the water. These changes can cause osmotic shock to the fish if they are large enough. Most all fish can handle a bigger pH change due to hardness than many people think. In many places where our fish come from a rainstorm can cause a huge change in pH. When CO2 lowers the pH it doesn't affect the kH or TDS. So the osmotic balance is not upset.
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