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CO2 levels problem

Nikola

Member
Joined
9 May 2020
Messages
179
Location
Slovakia
Hi everyone,
I'm new on this forum and new in planted tank hobby.

I have planted 29 gallon tank.
80x40x40cm
Light is led chihiros A801, 50w 7200 Lumen, it has a dimmer with 7 steps, right now is on 5th because I'm a little bit struggling with some algae.
Filter is canister 750 lph. I have a nice flow throw the tank, and light surface agitation.

My problem is next:
I just cannot hit good level of CO2 when lights are on.

Until now I was using ceramic diffuser under the filter intake. Bubble rate was 6.5 bbs. It was turning on 4 hours before the lights are on, and turning of two hours before lights of. I didn't have any bubbles in the aquarium, so it should be 100% dissolved.
But my drop checker was dark green every day when lights are on, and it becomes lime green maybe half an hour before lights are off.

Now i tried with inline reactor. First i bought an INSTA MAX reactor M. When I connected it inline with filter it was reducing my flow by double! And propellers were so loud on it. So I removed the propellers, on the bottom of reactor added a power head which is 750 lph, and connected everything inline with canister. Now flow is even better then without reactor.
And bubbles are nicely circling on top of it, it's really strong vortex in there, and only a smallest manage to go all the way down where power head grinds them even more and sending them trough the lily pipe at the end.
In aquarium I can see some(not a lot) really small micro bubbles which are all over the place (so flow should be good).

Now bubble rate is 8 bps and still after three hours my drop checker is dark green, almost blue. And when I check PH it is around 7.

I don't have a PH tester so I'm using drop checker liquid, and putting three drops in a syringe, making sure that there is no air in it and than take some water from aquarium with it and like that I'm getting instant results.

Can u please help me with this. Is it possible that I need even bigger bubble rate? I was reading that most off people are using 2 to 3 bbs on this size of tanks.

Is it possible maybe that I have some lame CO2 in the CO2 bottle?
My surface agitation is not hat strong at all, it is a little bit wavy and that's it.
 
Hi @jaypeecee , Thank You
Yes that's hard to measure :)
I'm recording slow motion video off 3sec duration. Than it is really easy to count them.
I'm recording few videos for any case and compare them.
 
Hi @Nikola

I never thought of using slow-motion video but, OK, that makes sense. I guess it would also be possible to use a stroboscope. Anyway, moving on...

It shouldn't be necessary to inject so much CO2 into a 29 gallon tank. I have a tank the same size as yourself and I run that at almost exactly one-tenth of your bubble rate.

Until now I was using ceramic diffuser under the filter intake.

I suspect that positioning the ceramic diffuser under the filter intake may have been not such a good idea.

Is it possible maybe that I have some lame CO2 in the CO2 bottle?

Which CO2 bottle are you using?

JPC
 
Hi @Fiske
Yes I checked few times, everything alright there.
@jaypeecee I was reading posts fro a lot off people who were using method under filter intake so i decided to try it, butt now not using it any way.
Hi @Nikola
It shouldn't be necessary to inject so much CO2 into a 29 gallon tank. I have a tank the same size as yourself and I run that at almost exactly one-tenth of your bubble rate.
JPC
Exactly that, because off that I'm so confused about my bubble rate, now it is 10bbs for an two hours and it is getting better but still not lime color.
Fishes are okay, very active, so i don't know. I'm next to the tank today whole day, will check fishes all the time and follow CO2.
Hope that somehow I will solve it with your help.

I bought no name bottle, 2l from aquarium plants store. I have one more 5l, which I bought few days ago to have for replacement while this one will be on refill. And I bought it on another place, so maybe I should try that one now and see is it about lame CO2 in this one.
Butt I don't think that someone would put something wrong in co2 bottle, I mean it's cheap to fill it with CO2.
 
I have a similar sized aquarium (Roma 125). My bubble rate moves so fast but I'd guess it's also about 8bps. Co2 on 2 hours before lights and it is lime green when lights turn on. I have an online diffuser on a 2000lph external filter. Like Fiske said, are you sure there is not a leak somewhere on your setup? Only yesterday I found a leak (faulty check valve)
 
Hey @Angelfishguy99
Okay, now when u said about your's, I fell better, so it can be that this bubble rate is not too much.

I was checking with soap water all around bubble counter, on check valve, on reactor. Even I was checking manometers and their connection, main connection, everything seems right.
How did u check leaking, which method did u use?
 
I used soapy water to try to d leaks on the regulator but didn't find any, then I put the check valve into a bowl of water and saw lots of little bubbles escaping.

Here is a video of my bubbles from a video yesterday when I was trying to work out why my working pressure was fluctuating (which was the leak)

 
Your bubble rate is something like mine, maybe your's just a bit slower.

Hmm, okay, I will go and check that too now
 
Checked it, everything is okay with leaking.
Now with 10 bps I'm getting towards lime green color slowly. Checked with syringe again. . Butt still, it should be there in 2 hours or less, mine is three hours already on 10 bps.
 
Sorry for interrupting your discussion guys..

But @Angelfishguy99 is right... It's a leak.

However, in case the diffuser is not good working... Or not placed on right place
Or the drop CHECKER is set on low water highet lv.

It could be everything.

But you have to know that 6 bps... Is already too much.

On my 52 gallons tank i used 3 types of diffusion methods:

Ista ceramic diffuser. - 3 bps
Atomizer inside the tank. - 2 bps
Inline atomozer. - 1 bps

In order to get lime green on the drop checker.

pH at morning 7.5
pH at evening 7.2-3
Kh 7.5 dkh


Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk
 
@Shuster I was just checking everything again for leaks butt didn't find it. I don't know how else to check it, only to put everything together under water, but that is impossible for me to do. And I can see how bubbles are coming in to the reactor.


Sorry for interrupting your discussion guys..

In order to get lime green on the drop checker.

pH at morning 7.5
pH at evening 7.2-3
Kh 7.5 dkh
Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk

This looks like not enough off pH drop.
It should be right in the morning drop off 1 pH that u would have around 30 ppm off CO2, like that it seams to me that u don't have even a half of that 30ppm.
 
@Shuster I was just checking everything again for leaks butt didn't find it. I don't know how else to check it, only to put everything together under water, but that is impossible for me to do. And I can see how bubbles are coming in to the reactor.




This looks like not enough off pH drop.
It should be right in the morning drop off 1 pH that u would have around 30 ppm off CO2, like that it seams to me that u don't have even a half of that 30ppm.
Sorry for the info that isn't suits your exception...

This info is about a 2 month old.
I'll check again on Saturday.

Regarding the drop checker, I am using 4dkh solution.

I'll attach a video for illustration...




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Sorry for the info that isn't suits your exception...

This info is about a 2 month old.
I'll check again on Saturday.

Regarding the drop checker, I am using 4dkh solution.

I'll attach a video for illustration...




Sent from my GM1913 using Tapatalk


Your aquarium looks wonderful Shuster.
And plants looks very healthy.

I’m sorry if I said something wrong, I was reading a lot on this forum, and lot off people suggest to have ph drop off at least 1 for good concentration off co2. Off course it can be less than that and everything to be good, like in your case.
Butt I want to make it to a full 30ppm to get rid off some algae in my aquarium, and help plants to establish nicely in there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Your aquarium looks wonderful Shuster.
And plants looks very healthy.

I’m sorry if I said something wrong, I was reading a lot on this forum, and lot off people suggest to have ph drop off at least 1 for good concentration off co2. Off course it can be less than that and everything to be good, like in your case.
Butt I want to make it to a full 30ppm to get rid off some algae in my aquarium, and help plants to establish nicely in there.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
It's ok mate ;)

I think if you'll provide some pics and and the is your water surface is in motion
It will bring a bit of cleared info regarding your tank.

Moreover, in case you have good diffusion with a reactor... You shouldn't inject more the 2 bps (IMO).

Please provide pics of the reactor or a video that how the co2 gets in the reactor (just to assist with your issue).

In my case those the diffusers that I used.

FYI

My co2 balloon is "soda stream 885g"
Lasts for 5 months. +/-. (At first connection I had some pressure release... Hahah not me the co2 bottle ;)

Attached pics:
Co2 bottle
Ceramic in tank atomizer
Inline atomizer
And the last state of my aquarium (just after water change "tap water").
fc7f3950df4b4178b7d323fe4be0be58.jpg
b1c9ef115536636d9c3a8749a80d6c2e.jpg
0202b1b33f6959039ca2831b9cf04aec.jpg

3356509883a59a5b9f89d211307b9e1f.jpg
16d624ee187498f602892fb7cfdd8896.jpg


I'd like to add...

In case you have some kind of alge, you need firstly check water parameters in order fix the root cause of them ;)

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Last edited:
Okay.

So this is my bubble counter video slow motion 3sec. It is 29 bubbles so it mean almost 10bps.


Surface agitation and bubbles in the tank:

U cannot see good bubbles but there is a lot off them inside now.

And reactor


About water parameters:

Amonia unreadable
Nitrite unreadable
Nitrate arround 25ppm (adding NPK)
dH arround 8
kH arround 10

I dont have a lot off algae, just around new plants which came from tissue culture, and they are adapting now.
It is Alternathera reinicki mini, montecarlo, and rotala nanjenshan.

Before light was all the way up, so I had outbreak of hair algae, but now they are gone, maybe few off them still in hairgrass but it will go away.
 
Thanks.

I saw the bobble in the tank. (Lots of them...)

2 questions...

Temperature of the water ?

Where is the drop checker?

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