# 1bps CO2 on 5.5g a good rate?



## Danielle (Jan 26, 2008)

Most of the plants are pearling and all the fish and shrimp are out and active with no signs of stress. It's set to come on and turn off 30 minutes before the lights.

I don't have a drop checker and I'm using the 1bps guide from the PPS threads in the ferts forum. Supposedly that gives me about 15ppm?

thanks!


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Seems to me if you're getting pearling then you're set!


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Most important is keeping the CO2 level the same every day. Even if it is a low level, it is still good for the plants, and if it is steady the plants will grow well.


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## Logan's Daddy (May 3, 2008)

How are you diffusing the co2 into your tank? 

1bps bubbling straight into the tank through an airstone will have quite a different effect than 1 bps through an efficient reactor, I currently run just over 1 bps in my 34g in a diy diffuser and that is good for a steady 25-30ppm co2. 

just wondering. :-k


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## Danielle (Jan 26, 2008)

It's an ADA pollen glass diffuser. The entire setup is the ADA advanced system with the little 74g bottles.



Logan's Daddy said:


> How are you diffusing the co2 into your tank?
> 
> 1bps bubbling straight into the tank through an airstone will have quite a different effect than 1 bps through an efficient reactor, I currently run just over 1 bps in my 34g in a diy diffuser and that is good for a steady 25-30ppm co2.
> 
> just wondering. :-k


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## HankB (Apr 15, 2008)

Pardon my ignorance, but how is 1bps measured? I'm using DIY CO2 (2x 2.7L bottles of yeast and sugar water) and these go through a "gas separator" as shown at http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#3

The best I've ever seen is about a bubble every two seconds. This is going into a 55 gallon tank through a stone positioned close enough to the intake for my cannister filter to suck most of the CO2 in. I have a Red Sea CO2 drop checker which shows a very pale green and my plants perl. So it seems that this is adequate CO2. If my 0.5 bps is measured on the same basis of your 1 bps, then with 10x the volume and half the rate, you are putting in about 20x the CO2 that I am using.

It seems to me that that's a pretty wide range for both to be useful but not excessive so I wonder exactly how bps are measured.

thanks,
hank


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## Danielle (Jan 26, 2008)

Hank

I'm using pressurized CO2 with a bubble counter if that makes a difference.


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## Logan's Daddy (May 3, 2008)

Lighting and fertilization also plays a role in co2 uptake, in a lower light tank with slower growth the plants will take in less co2, for example Hank's tank may be larger, but the growth and therefore use of co2 may be slower due to other factors, meaning bubbling the same amount of co2 into a 5 gallon tank and a 55 gallon *could* produce the same saturation levels depending on how much of it is actually absorbed.

Also, the drop checkers you are using are a good indicator, but they are NOT measuring co2 directly, they are measuring (inderectly) the relative Ph of your tank. They are generally calibrated for an average Kh of 4.0. In order to have a true reading you should know the Kh of your water and also the Ph, then use one of the many charts available online to determine approximate co2 in ppm.

The chart I have shows a co2 reading of anywhere between 4.8 - 38 ppm at a ph of 6.8 (light green on a drop checker) depending on the Kh of the water.

So Daniell, you probably have softer water than Hank as well. I would reccomend testing with a good kit, or just take a sample to you lfs and have them do it, once you know the Kh you'll have a much more accurate picture of what's going on.

In the end, if your plants are growing, algae is staying at bay, and fish aren't dying or gasping for air at the surface everything is ok and none of my above ramblings matter anyway...


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

There is no standard size for a "bubble". So, if you have big bubbles you need fewer per second, and vice versa. The bubble size depends mostly on the hole size the bubble comes out of.


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## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Thats why if you use the old school way of measurng by pH, you can see any fluctuation.

You need a drop checker?


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