I need help with my co2

[Dominic]

I just needed a little bit of help with my co2

It is a 300 liter tank, with a fluval 305 filter hooked up onto a diy spraybar along the whole length of it, alongside two newave 1600 circulation pumps.

It is going to be done over the next two days (want to get it done before i go back to college) and i was wondering what was the best co2 period and photoperiod.

What i was thinking was- a five hour photoperiod, with the co2 turning on one hour before lights on, and one hour after lights off, and gradually increasing this over a few weeks (say 15 minute increase per week?)

And i am thinking of running it around 4bps to begin with.

Does this sound ideal to begin with? (of course, adjustments will probably need to be made)

 

[Andy Thurston]

theres no point in adding co2 after lights off. a hour before lights on at 4bps is a good place to start but this will probably need adjusting, and could be risky if livestock is present.
I started mine with a 6hour photo period and havn't adjusted it yet
if you don't have a ph pen now would be a good time to get one. my ph is 7.5 at gas on, falling to ph6 for lights on and remains at ph6 for the duration of the photo period. a ph drop of 1 unit is a good starting point but you may need more/less depending on light, flow, surface agitation etc
hope this helps

 

[Dominic]

yup, i have a ph pen mate. I have a drop checker too but i need to get some 4dkh solution from aquaessentials but the ph pen will do for now.

There is no livestock present, gonna run fishless for around a month or so, to help the tank cycle too.
So i should turn on the co2 one hour before the lights come on, and then end at the same time as lights off?
Should i get the ph to drop by one, by the beginning of the photoperiod?

Could you explain the whole surface agitation to me please mate?

 

[Andy Thurston]

yes aim for a 1 ph drop at lights on, more when theres no fish, this it the time when plants need co2 the most. once the plants are healthy you can use the dropchecker to make the tank safe for fish and use your ph pen to keep the optimal level throughout the photo period. there can be a 1-2hour delay with the dropchecker so yellow at lights on could mean yellow 1-2hours before.

if you have no surface agitation you will need to inject less co2 to achive the 1ph drop, but if you have more surface agitation this will increase O2 levels in the tank but will mean you lose some co2 through gassing off at the surface and you will have to inject more co2 to compensate for the extra loss.
i run a trickle filter in one of my tanks which gasses off a lot of co2 but this allows me to add more co2 before the fish start struggling and gasping for air, i have a 1.5 ph drop in that tank at lights on and it is much easier to maintain stable levels of co2 throughout the photo period. my other tank has reasonable surface agitation but doesnt lose as much co2 as the trickle filter and it can be quite difficult to maintain safe levels towards the end of the photoperiod. in that tank my co2 is injected for 15minute and off for 45mins throughout the photoperiod.
gas turns off 2 hours before the lights in both tanks.

you'll have a much better idea of whats going on when start experimenting with co2 and doing ph profiles to check your adjustments. each tank is different so a little bit of experimenting is essential to find the sweet spot. injection rates, timing, diffusion method, surface agitation and flow&distribution are the variables we can change to achive our goal of maximum co2 in the tank at lights on and keeping the level stable throughout the photo period

 

[petn]

What is your KH again? For high KH you may be happy with less PH drop than whole 1

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