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Newbee co2 questions

cichlidlover

cichlidlover

Member
Joined
28 Apr 2010
Messages
58
Location
chestefield/chorley, lancashire
hi folks,
well i have got my new tank and co2 kit up and running but just wanted to clear a few things up.
i have been running in my new diffuser (telifun) for nearly a week at one bubble per second in my 240ltr tank, the co2 is on a solenoid and is switched on one hour before lights on and switched off one hour before lights off. One question i want to ask is about my drop checker. I would like to know why the colour is still lime green in the morning, surely it would change back to blue when co2 is not being added? I use 4dkh solution in my drop checker.
Another question i want to ask is this. will i need to add more co2 to the tank as my plants grow? it is heavily planted with tropica substrate and sand and 2x40w t8s,
one more thing, I have not transferred my fish to the new tank yet so would it hurt to really boost the co2 if i wanted to or just keep it as it is?

thanks

mark
 
Thanks for the reply rudi,
I realise now that's why there is no change and it's a good thing because it means the ph is stable.
Do you think 1 bubble ps is enough as the plants are only small as yet
or do you think I should turn it up a tad?

Mark.
 
 
Hi guys I am not following the thought process on this one at all, maybe its just me :? . If you inject CO2 all day and end up with lime green and no fish gasping great. :D . But in the morning its still lime green and we are just about to start the CO2 injection process all over again are you suggesting the plants uptake uses all the injected CO2 and the the drop checker does not go yellow. That would suggest an incredible balance of injected CO2 and uptake. If you start in the morning at lime green and inject all day how can it not go yellow? You say the CO2 is being retained by the cover, again I am confused as unless the cover on the tank is cling film, it is not gas tight so it may slow it down at tiny bit but not enough to retain gas. Have you ever tried to blow up a balloon with a pin hole in it, and that is just a pin hole!
Starting of in the morning with a lime green drop checker is the bit I am not getting because after reading every CO2 thread we have on here that appears in my humble understanding to be what we are trying to achieve after a full injection period and over night the plants and loss bring us back to the start all over again. Then the solenoid opens and we go all over again. :) Mark upping the CO2 is a difficult one until we get a response to the above, but as stated above if the drop checker is accurate we start at blue/green and head for as lime green as the fish are happy at within reason. That is my understanding and it certainlly works for me on a heavily planted heavily stocked 260l tank, Kind regards Colin.
 
Well mines still green this morn not lime but still green and it don't go yellow in the day and there no gasping and it's only about 2 or 3 bps so it's barely turned up
 
thanks for the input Colin,
to be honest i have been looking at the drop checker this weekend (a JBL one with the white background ) and i am wondering if the colour is actually lime green and not green/blue (I have really crap eyes :? ) and i am now wondering if i am injecting enough co2 as one bubble a second does not seem a lot for the amount of plants I have! should i try it a little higher and just monitor the fish for a day or two?

cheers guys

mark
 
Hi mark, yes for sure slowly increase the rate. As you state the interpritation of green/blue, yellow/lime green could go on forever. It is something I have posted on here about before, its not an easy one. But as you say let the livestock make the final balance, if you increase slowly over every 2 or 3 days and keep an eye on them towards the period before light off and again in the morning and there is no surface gasping you should achieve the optimum setting. The livestock will give a far more relevant indicator than the drop-checker, kind regards Colin.
 
Just to completely agree with Colin - best indicator for CO2 levels is healthy livestock, but the DC is useful for checcking CO2 distribution around the tank, then you're just making sure it stays the same colour, rather than a subjective decision on yellow/green/blue. It can help to grow carpets etc. as youc an check CO2 at the substrate
Cheers
M
 
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