I know that the recommended target for dissolved CO2 is 20-30ppm. That's because of livestock tolerance levels and in an unstocked tank you can turn up the CO2 even higher - right?
What if I have a tank full of 'easy' plants such as anubias, fern and moss and very little algae. Let's assume they have around 3ppm dissolved CO2 from the atmosphere and sufficient nutrients and they grow well, albeit slowly.
Now if I increase the CO2 to 15ppm in that tank and up the ferts accordingly, what could I expect to see (assuming stable CO2 levels and good flow)? The plants would grow faster but would the algae also grow faster?
If I increased the CO2 again to the recommended 30ppm, would the algae magically disappear? Why?
I'm trying to understand if low CO2 levels will cause algae in a tank with plants that are good at utilising low levels of CO2 and whether there is any benefit to trying to achieve the magic 30ppm in this sort of tank.
Cheers,
Daize
What if I have a tank full of 'easy' plants such as anubias, fern and moss and very little algae. Let's assume they have around 3ppm dissolved CO2 from the atmosphere and sufficient nutrients and they grow well, albeit slowly.
Now if I increase the CO2 to 15ppm in that tank and up the ferts accordingly, what could I expect to see (assuming stable CO2 levels and good flow)? The plants would grow faster but would the algae also grow faster?
If I increased the CO2 again to the recommended 30ppm, would the algae magically disappear? Why?
I'm trying to understand if low CO2 levels will cause algae in a tank with plants that are good at utilising low levels of CO2 and whether there is any benefit to trying to achieve the magic 30ppm in this sort of tank.
Cheers,
Daize