Which Co2 Delivery system are you using

[David]

UA ...I did a google search and that come up...hahhahhaa

So basically, based on description, isn't it basically am external reactor using ceramic diffuser combined into one?

[bennyc]

I am not sure if this is just marketing talk, but i sort of believe it.

The reason why its betterr
in normal ceramic diffusers, the CO2 is forced into a fine mist by pores on the ceramic plate. This CO2 is small and gets dissolved into the water easily. To further aid the process, some people (like myself) like to point the outlet of the filter towards the ceramic diffuser. It disrupts the CO2 stream, causing it to whirl around before going straight up to the water surface.

this design does something similar, it creates a flow of water surrounding the CO2 stream. promising a higher rate of dissolution or finer misting (i am not sure).

Thats my take..

David, i think erctheanda bro has describe it, i could not have say it any better myself.

The main point is that it has a direction element in it since it is distribute by the outlet of a lily pipe. so the CO2 is more evenly distribute.

[David]

Thanks ..sorry Erctheanda ....

[wongce]

just check out wongce's blog, he actually did a review on the UP Aqua Inline SUPER Diffuser. it is a two tube ceramic inline diffuser.



I don't own the picture, it is wongce's. (Wongce bro, where are you, share some expertise here, please)

He mentioned that it needs a working psi of at least 35.

I am here lol, it needs 35psi++ to work, i adjusted my solenoid for it to work. I do not get any bubble (i think co2 dissolved perfectly) as my drop checker turn green when i have sufficient pressure and while its in operation.

If you do not have sufficient pressure, the co2 can't go through the "brown diffuser tubes". I noticed bubbles counter will show bubbles slowed down and stopped( insufficient pressure to punch through the diffuser tube)

There are a lot of small parts and o-rings in the item, it needs to be fitted perfectly for it to work. The co2 inlet "nipple" feels a bit fragile to me.

I changed back to my old "rectified" atomizer as i like to see the small bubbles of co2 floating around...lol

Ok, anymore questions??lol

[felix_fx2]

felix,

I do not understand your rationale, Tank->Canister->Inline->Prefilter->Tank.

why is the prefilter last? Should not it be Tank->Prefilter->Canister->Inline->Tank.

cause its acts as reactor and hold co2 for me. besides that it keeps my waters super clear.

[Shadow]

There are a lot of small parts and o-rings in the item, it needs to be fitted perfectly for it to work. The co2 inlet "nipple" feels a bit fragile to me.

The good thing about this model is you can dismantle it and clean it. However, I have problem with this model, exactly as womgce mention, I can see big bubble coming out from the contact between brown diffuser and the housing. Try to tighten it but still does not work. I preferred the older model, pity the distributor does not bring it anymore.

[felix_fx2]

The good thing about this model is you can dismantle it and clean it. However, I have problem with this model, exactly as womgce mention, I can see big bubble coming out from the contact between brown diffuser and the housing. Try to tighten it but still does not work. I preferred the older model, pity the distributor does not bring it anymore.

The seal not very good for mine, ended up using Teflon tape for mine to work.
The large screw on cap used to hold everything together also broke due to screwing it overly tight. I am using back my cheaper boyu unit.

[Shadow]

so I guess not just me

[PKB]

that very little for 3ft, I use 6-8 bps for my 3ft but again it depend on how much light you put on top.

Hi Robert,

Slightly off topic a bit. My apologies.

Need some advise from you. Normally do you start injecting CO2 for a certain period before your light comes on or do you injection and the lights comes on at the same time?

My regime is as follow : (Lights and CO2 comes on at the same time)
I have a 422 Tank.

1 ) CO2 - 3 bps
2 ) Lightings - 55W X 4 (T5)
3 ) Dosing 40ml of Excel every morning
4 ) Lighting period 7am - 11am and 7pm - 11pm
5 ) Fert once a week : Following dosing instruction on Seachem N,P,K. and Iron Once every 2 weeks.

Water change once every 2 week.

Do you think my method is ok?

[ConcaveLiNkiN]

Hi Robert,

Slightly off topic a bit. My apologies.

Need some advise from you. Normally do you start injecting CO2 for a certain period before your light comes on or do you injection and the lights comes on at the same time?

My regime is as follow : (Lights and CO2 comes on at the same time)
I have a 422 Tank.

1 ) CO2 - 3 bps
2 ) Lightings - 55W X 4 (T5)
3 ) Dosing 40ml of Excel every morning
4 ) Lighting period 7am - 11am and 7pm - 11pm
5 ) Fert once a week : Following dosing instruction on Seachem N,P,K. and Iron Once every 2 weeks.

Water change once every 2 week.

Do you think my method is ok?

Hi PKB,

I could only advise you on the period to turn on the CO2, what I am doing now is to turn the CO2 at least 30mins - 1hr before the lights kick in. Photosynthesis occur in the presence of light and CO2. You might need awhile for the CO2 to be blended into the water before the plants could effectively absorb them. Turning off, I would recommend the same 30min - 1hr before the lights go out. In this way, there will be less unconsumed CO2 within the tank, so that fishes will not be struggling for O2. Although there might be sufficient O2 in the tank, but just to be safe.

For dosing, I am only using ADA Brighty K every night before I go to bed. I believe I might need more than that, but for now, I guess it could be good enough.

*i will be camping here to learn more of dosing from the seniors and experts* :P


Cheers
eRic

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[Berny]

40ml per day? that's alot of excel!

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[Shadow]

Need some advise from you. Normally do you start injecting CO2 for a certain period before your light comes on or do you injection and the lights comes on at the same time?

Normally I turn ON my CO2 30 minutes earlier than the light ON.

My regime is as follow : (Lights and CO2 comes on at the same time)
I have a 422 Tank.
1 ) CO2 - 3 bps
2 ) Lightings - 55W X 4 (T5)

Too low in my opinion, comparing to 6-8 bps for my 3ft tank but then it better to to check with drop checker if you have it. CO2 injection is related to the amount of light you put on top, unfortunately I do not know whether 55Wx4 in 4x2x2ft consider high, medium or low.

3 ) Dosing 40ml of Excel every morning
4 ) Lighting period 7am - 11am and 7pm - 11pm
5 ) Fert once a week : Following dosing instruction on Seachem N,P,K. and Iron Once every 2 weeks.

What the substrate that you are using? if it is fertile soil then probably OK. Otherwise you need to calculate or try and error on the dosage. Problem with product dosing instruction is it does not tell you how much light it is for. As we all know higher light intensity (until certain point) cause higher photosynthesis rate, thus higher nutrient intake.

It is more forgiving if you have fertile soil because your soil will act as buffer and supply the nutrient.

[PKB]

40ml per day? that's alot of excel!

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Yes, that is overdose. actually that was for major water change. 5ml for every 40L water. Daily dosing should be actually about 10ML dosing, my typo error. My bad

[PKB]

Hi Robert, thank you for your advise. I will switch on the CO2 injection 30 mins before the lights comes on. Think it is also time to get a drop checker (I throw away my old one last week because it had became an algae nest). I am on GEX soil now. Hope this is ok.

I am breaking up my lightings period because I am worry about algae outbreak. It is ok to on the light 4hrs in the day and 4 hrs at night?

[PKB]

Hi PKB,

I could only advise you on the period to turn on the CO2, what I am doing now is to turn the CO2 at least 30mins - 1hr before the lights kick in. Photosynthesis occur in the presence of light and CO2. You might need awhile for the CO2 to be blended into the water before the plants could effectively absorb them. Turning off, I would recommend the same 30min - 1hr before the lights go out. In this way, there will be less unconsumed CO2 within the tank, so that fishes will not be struggling for O2. Although there might be sufficient O2 in the tank, but just to be safe.

For dosing, I am only using ADA Brighty K every night before I go to bed. I believe I might need more than that, but for now, I guess it could be good enough.

*i will be camping here to learn more of dosing from the seniors and experts* :P


Cheers
eRic

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Thank for the advise Eric, your opinion about the CO2 totally make sense. Will be grabbing another timer for the CO2 on my way home today.

[wongce]

Hi Robert, thank you for your advise. I will switch on the CO2 injection 30 mins before the lights comes on. Think it is also time to get a drop checker (I throw away my old one last week because it had became an algae nest). I am on GEX soil now. Hope this is ok.

I am breaking up my lightings period because I am worry about algae outbreak. It is ok to on the light 4hrs in the day and 4 hrs at night?

do you have an algae outbreak now? if no, there is no need to worry, just monitor and reduce photoperiod if necessary e.g from 8 hours per day to 7 hours per day. Concentrate on growing plants and algae will be normally minimal /manageable..

to me, no need to change if there is no problem, most of people fails because of a deadly disease.... the infamous "itchy hand syndrome"... Note: i also have it....lol

wah, you throw away your drop checker? they are quite easy to clean, few soaks of bleach or hydrogen peroxide and gentle rubbing and algae will be gone... i keep nerite snails to clean them ( quite effective but they loves to lay eggs on rocks and dw) . Let me know if you are throwing anything good or algae infested ok...:P.

[ConcaveLiNkiN]

Regarding algae issues, there is actually quite a good iPhone app from Tropica, that structures like a task reminder that reminds what you need to do and what to expect during the first 90 days after you set up your tank. In the app, they talk about ways to counter algae issues, as there are different types of algae, you will require different methods. Do download it and try it out.

As for me, I am trying to understand the resources algae requires in order to exist in your tank. I believe we might not be able to totally eliminate them but to minimize them. That way, we will need to introduce new factors that will cut down on their supplies of resources. And regular maintenance does help.


Cheers
eRic

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[PKB]

do you have an algae outbreak now? if no, there is no need to worry, just monitor and reduce photoperiod if necessary e.g from 8 hours per day to 7 hours per day. Concentrate on growing plants and algae will be normally minimal /manageable..

to me, no need to change if there is no problem, most of people fails because of a deadly disease.... the infamous "itchy hand syndrome"... Note: i also have it....lol

wah, you throw away your drop checker? they are quite easy to clean, few soaks of bleach or hydrogen peroxide and gentle rubbing and algae will be gone... i keep nerite snails to clean them ( quite effective but they loves to lay eggs on rocks and dw) . Let me know if you are throwing anything good or algae infested ok...:P.

I have the same itchy hand disease, touch and touch until things goes wrong. My drop checker is a pain to clean, algae in the inner wall of the ball.
Was busy with work and my old scape became a heaven for algae, I can't even read the temperature on my thermometer as it was fully covered by BBA.

Will let you know if I throw away anything away again. (Joking)

[Urban Aquaria]

... think it is also time to get a drop checker (I throw away my old one last week because it had became an algae nest). I am on GEX soil now. Hope this is ok.

I am breaking up my lightings period because I am worry about algae outbreak. It is ok to on the light 4hrs in the day and 4 hrs at night?

The 2 shift "siesta regimen" type light schedule is more for those with non-Co2 injected tanks, as they use that technique to recover some of the limited naturally occurring CO2 during the mid-afternoon lights off period.

If your tank has pressurized Co2 injected, then its not really necessary for a 2 shift light schedule as the tank's Co2 supply is already controlled and if the nutrients and lights are balanced, then plants should already be out-competing the algae growth.

I've read of some theories that plants can adapt better to interrupted light schedules better than algae, so i guess that's why some people still use the method even in Co2 injected tanks.

Though i do know of some friend who do it mainly because they prefer to see the tank with lights on in the morning before going to work, then see it with lights on again when they come back home... then in that case, it'll be a good idea to also schedule the Co2 injection to also switch off during the lights off period, since the plants will reduce their Co2 intake and oxygen output during no light, the Co2 might build up to much higher levels, which can affect the fishes and shrimps.

[Urban Aquaria]

hink it is also time to get a drop checker (I throw away my old one last week because it had became an algae nest).

Maybe you can consider getting the external hang on Co2 drop checkers, like the gUSH ones:



Photo from google.

I switched back to using these type of hang on drop checkers on all my tanks now (got abit tired of cleaning my previous in-tank ones, less items in the tank = less clutter too)... their Co2 detection/reaction times seems about the same as the in-tank ones, so they can be suitable for long term usage.