co2 question

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
jcardona1;3811516; said:
what's wrong is telling him that his plants simply will not use co2. his plants will use it, maybe not as much as they would with more light, but they will use it as all plants need carbon to survive.

comparing the sunlight on earth to a glass box is apples to oranges. my 55g had 2wpg of t5ho lighting at 6 hours and that was more than enough. any more light and I started to get algae as it was too difficult to keep things balanced. that is why I stand by what I said earlier; most problems are caused by too much light, not too little.

its easy to repeat what you learn in biology class but actually setting up and maintaining a thriving high tech tank is a whole other story ;)

I did setup and maintain a thriving tank, and i did it by the numbers.

all things grow at monitered rates and it keeps my fish and plants very happy.

if the plants cant make use of all the CO2 then putting more in the water lessens the ammount of oxygen that the water can hold and the fish need that to live. If the light in the tank isnt very high then the gas requirments will be best satisfied by an air stone that pumps in both oxygen and a bit of CO2.



if you do want to use CO2 because you dont belive me make sure it stops pumping a few minutes before the lights turn off so that you dont kill your fish.

Also on the 12 hours of light thing you get the thumbs up:headbang2 i do that as well for my main lights.

(the photos are of Tim's grow out tank.)

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I'm sticking with Jcardona1 on this one.

Alhazred, you're incorrect on some of the information you've posted. CO2 does not replace O2 like you have stated. Water can be heavily saturated with CO2 without having any effect on O2. If anything, heavily saturated CO2 tanks with sufficient light will often result in the plants pearling (meaning, the oxygen has reached such a high level in the water due to the plants photosynthesizing that the excess O2 bubbles out).

However, you are correct about shutting off a co2 system when the lights are off. The plants stop photosynthesizing and start absorbing oxygen. If you were to continue running CO2 during this period at very high levels, then you would most certainly put your fish's health in jeopardy.

Please, in the future discontinue the practice of posting incorrect information to new fish keepers on what you 'think' is correct, versus posting what is supported by scientific information.

Also, it is considerably rude to quote someone's entire post and follow it with 'WRONG.' Constructive criticism is better for all of us on this site.

Alhazred;3816611; said:
I did setup and maintain a thriving tank, and i did it by the numbers.

all things grow at monitered rates and it keeps my fish and plants very happy.

if the plants cant make use of all the CO2 then putting more in the water lessens the ammount of oxygen that the water can hold and the fish need that to live. If the light in the tank isnt very high then the gas requirments will be best satisfied by an air stone that pumps in both oxygen and a bit of CO2.



if you do want to use CO2 because you dont belive me make sure it stops pumping a few minutes before the lights turn off so that you dont kill your fish.

Also on the 12 hours of light thing you get the thumbs up:headbang2 i do that as well for my main lights.

(the photos are of Tim's grow out tank.)
 
I'mHooked;3817319; said:
I'm sticking with Jcardona1 on this one.

Alhazred, you're incorrect on some of the information you've posted. CO2 does not replace O2 like you have stated. Water can be heavily saturated with CO2 without having any effect on O2. If anything, heavily saturated CO2 tanks with sufficient light will often result in the plants pearling (meaning, the oxygen has reached such a high level in the water due to the plants photosynthesizing that the excess O2 bubbles out).

However, you are correct about shutting off a co2 system when the lights are off. The plants stop photosynthesizing and start absorbing oxygen. If you were to continue running CO2 during this period at very high levels, then you would most certainly put your fish's health in jeopardy.

Please, in the future discontinue the practice of posting incorrect information to new fish keepers on what you 'think' is correct, versus posting what is supported by scientific information.

Also, it is considerably rude to quote someone's entire post and follow it with 'WRONG.' Constructive criticism is better for all of us on this site.
:iagree::iagree::iagree:
 
I also agree with Jcardona1, i have seen numerous of other posts of his that make sense and have recently helped me with my aquarium at home. Also, as IMHOOKED said, that is rude to do, theres no reason to take shots at someone else with useful information, trying to help someone else out.

I am trying out a do it yourself co2 generator and diffuser for my aquaria, i think i am one of those people who have too much light and too little C02. i just built mine last night and the whole set up costed 15 dollars tops. Not to mention i got to chug 2 liters of coke in the process. :) There are a bunch of youtube videos about it. And if you dont want to go through the set up and work. Fosters sells a bio generator that does the same thing for $30. It might be an idea to experiment with a cheaper alternative, and then if you like the results go for a more expensive set up.
 
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