Co2 Advice

[reeshee]

you can either bring it down to my house during my off days, or you can bring it to my workplace at amk, and I'll bring it home to fill up for you and you collect from me other time. either way works for me, drop me a pm to discuss

AMK sounds good I'll get back to you by Sunday if I'm unable to locate the solution. Cheers buddy!

[reeshee]

Good morning guys!

I have more questions:

Can I set my timer to trigger my light and co2 at the same time? Or should one turn on before the other?

What's the ideal amount of time I should leave co2 and lights on? If both are different I'll have to buy 2 timers.

Should I place the co2 diffuser below the filter outlet pipe to ensure co2 is pushed throughout the tank for less wastage? Now I can see some bubbles just floating up and popping!

When injecting Co2, should I put any other supplements? Such as "flourish excel" or "plant premium" (I own both of these that's why I'm asking)

Now that it's a new setup and I am only growing plants, I am ignorant to oxygen levels. However after a month, I intend to introduce shrimps inside. Will my shrimps be able to tolerate a tank with co2 and no air stone? My tank has no surface aeration as I read that wastes co2. There are currently 2 circulation inside the tank. 1 for canister and the other for chiller. Will these circulation provide enough oxygen for shrimps?

Additional info: 2ft low profile tank (GEX600Slim), Azoo Canistor Filter, Hailea Chiller, 2L Co2 injection, ADA soil, Jap Hairgrass, Normal Hairgrass, US Fissiden, Mini Pellia, Marimo Moss.

[jiajuen900]

I used to set my lights and CO2 on the same timer. No issues then.
But ideally, you should set your CO2 to turn on 1 hour before the lights so that by the time the lights turn on the water column would be rich enough in CO2 for plants to begin photosynthesis.

Generally we leave CO2 and lights on for 6-8 hours. That is the most common timings I have seen anyways.

To discourage algae growth, you could include a siesta timing of 1-2 hours in between.

For example, 4 hours lights, 1 hour siesta and 4 hours lights.

[Urban Aquaria]

Can I set my timer to trigger my light and co2 at the same time? Or should one turn on before the other?

What's the ideal amount of time I should leave co2 and lights on? If both are different I'll have to buy 2 timers.

You can set the Co2 timing to follow your light schedule... though some people prefer to set the Co2 to switch on 0.5-1 hour before the lights come on (so that the Co2 levels can build up to optimal levels when the lights are on) and then switch off the Co2 injection 0.5-1 hour before lights off (so that the plants can use up the remaining Co2 and reduce the amount of excess Co2 accumulating during non-photosynthesis/night period).

If you do separate timing schedule for the Co2 and lights, then you'll need to use separate plug timers for them.

For most planted tanks, an 8 hour photoperiod is okay (up to 10 hours is fine too, if you have alot of plants). But if you have less plant density at the start or mainly slower growing plants, then maybe go for a shorter 6-7 hour photoperiod to match the lower plant mass and growth, then gradually increase it accordingly once everything is stable and the plants grow out.

Should I place the co2 diffuser below the filter outlet pipe to ensure co2 is pushed throughout the tank for less wastage? Now I can see some bubbles just floating up and popping!

There are many different methods of Co2 diffuser placement, it usually depends on your tank's plant and hardscape layout... but in general, the most common placement is directly opposite the outflow, this allows the flow to push down the fine Co2 bubbles and distribute them across the substrate where the plants are. Here is a diagram from UKAPS.com for reference:


Photo Source: http://www.ukaps.org/index.php?page=...h-planted-tank

When injecting Co2, should I put any other supplements? Such as "flourish excel" or "plant premium" (I own both of these that's why I'm asking)

You can dose Seachem Excel as an additional form of carbon (along with Co2 injection), the Excel can help supply alternative carbon to plants that may not be able to uptake the Co2 in the water and it also has a side benefit of inhibiting some algae growth too.

If by "Plant Premium" you are referring to fertilizer, then yes you'll definitely need to dose sufficient fertilizers to ensure the plants get enough nutrients to utilize the additional Co2 and light to grow.

Now that it's a new setup and I am only growing plants, I am ignorant to oxygen levels. However after a month, I intend to introduce shrimps inside. Will my shrimps be able to tolerate a tank with co2 and no air stone? My tank has no surface aeration as I read that wastes co2. There are currently 2 circulation inside the tank. 1 for canister and the other for chiller. Will these circulation provide enough oxygen for shrimps?

Additional info: 2ft low profile tank (GEX600Slim), Azoo Canistor Filter, Hailea Chiller, 2L Co2 injection, ADA soil, Jap Hairgrass, Normal Hairgrass, US Fissiden, Mini Pellia, Marimo Moss.

For planted tanks with Co2 injection, if there are alot of plants and they are photosynthesizing actively, the process will oxygenate the tank water. When you see the plants start pearling (especially from fast growing plants), then its a sign that the oxygen saturation in the tank water is at its maximum level, and there will be no issues with oxygen supply for the livestock (the fishes and shrimps will actually be getting way more oxygen than in a tank without plants and Co2 injection).

Your current plants are not exactly the fast growing types so you have to adjust the Co2 BPS rate to moderate the Co2 levels to match their growth rate, their oxygenation capability may also be less (compared to fast growing plants), so thats something to take note of. If you find that the shrimps are showing signs of low oxygen in the water (it usually depends on the bio-load), then increase surface agitation or use an air stone. In this case, for the losses in Co2, you'll probably just have to inject abit more to compensate.

Since you are using a chiller, the cooler water will be able to hold more oxygen, so that will help alot. The dual circulation in your tank would be beneficial too, just position them so that they can eliminate as much dead-spots as possible.

Although the tank water should stay well oxygenated even after the photoperiod ends, you can also further oxygenate the tank water "after hours" by adding an air stone or sponge filter that only activates when the lights are off.

[jiajuen900]

Very detailed answer from UA

[reeshee]

Wow... Thank you for the awesome detailed reply Prof! That so much to digest but really solid advice! Will slowly implement your suggestions. Thanks to Jiajuen too!!

[reeshee]

I found the solution!! Just bought it at my LFS at Thomson road.

[jiajuen900]

Oh! May I know which LFS this is?

[Shadow]

My guess NA (Nature Aquarium) just opposite Thomson medical center

[reeshee]

Oh! May I know which LFS this is?

Hey buddy, no it's not NA. It's called Striker's Aquarium! It's at 244k Upper Thomson Road. S(574369) They sell shrimps and fishes too. Plants variety is average. Nice guys working there. Look out for Ken or Mr Quek!

It's a relatively new shop. Same row as the famous crispy prata shop at Thomson.

[Shadow]

new shop? didn't know there is fish shop near the prata shop

[reeshee]

new shop? didn't know there is fish shop near the prata shop

Hehe yea its about 4-5 months in operation. It makes my prata or bak chor mee session along that stretch more exciting as I get to window shop after a meal! Best part is that they only start closing about 9:45-10pm. Do drop by if you're in the area guys!

[AQMS]

Wow... i just passed the prata shop last week and did not notice the fish shop..

[reeshee]

Last night I starved my tank of Co2 for 2 hours then proceeded to change the liquid in my Co2 checker. It was a nice blue. I then looked at it after 1 hour, it changed to a perfect green colour. Is this normal? I was expecting it to remain blue as its not the optimal level of co2 in the tank. Could it be that my co2 test liquid is expired or not functioning as its supposed to?

Sorry if this is a dumb question haha :P

[Urban Aquaria]

Maybe you can just try taking the drop checker out of the tank for 1-2 hours, see if it turns blue, then put it back into the tank and see if it turns green again... if it does then it should be working correctly.

Perhaps the mix ratio of the indicator reagent and 4dKH reference soution might have something to do with it too, not sure if that affects the speed of color change or the color intensity though.

[reeshee]

Maybe you can just try taking the drop checker out of the tank for 1-2 hours, see if it turns blue, then put it back into the tank and see if it turns green again... if it does then it should be working correctly.

Perhaps the mix ratio of the indicator reagent and 4dKH reference soution might have something to do with it too, not sure if that affects the speed of color change or the color intensity though.

That sounds like an easy enough experiment, shall try it when i'm home later and post my findings I used 5ml of 4dkh(fills up slightly more than half the globe) with 3 drops of reagent.

[AQMS]

Alternatively you can test the 4dkh solution with KH test kit if you have.

[reeshee]

Alternatively you can test the 4dkh solution with KH test kit if you have.

I don't have one yet. I did the test that bro UA suggested. Yep, turns blue when out of the tank for 2 hours. I just placed it back in tank. My co2 has been turned off for 4 hours now. Let's see the colour in the morning.

[AQMS]

If you need a new bottle of 4dkh solution contact me. I can sell you mine. I have a few in storage.

[kurty]

Wanna tag along,

I think I got a faulty solenoid, kinda old and with 2 gauges .
Any idea where can I send for repair or replace the leaks.