# Too much CO2?



## Dyjital (Jul 15, 2010)

I know that there is a such thing as too much CO2 and after making my own injection system (thanks to the DIY's on this site)..

Here's a video of it in action:





It's on a 10 gallon tank:









Tank now is about 2x as dark as the TANNINS are really coloring it. I'd say the tank is almost a gold in color right now. Water is still very clean but not clear (water color not an issue since I know where the color is coming from)









Not heavily planted but the ones that are there are *growing..*

My CO2 injection consists of 2x 2liter bottles and one 20oz bottle as the liquid/air separator.









After watching it bubble for about 90 minutes today I'm beginning to wonder if I could be running too much CO2 for my size of a tank.

Fish in tank: 4 Bloodfin Tetras
Surface agitation is kept to a minimum with my current filter the water does not fall, it slides off filter into tank. (basically what I'm saying is minimal surface agitation for CO2 to be released into the air).

Any thoughts?


----------



## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

RED SEA makes a cheap good Co2 indicator, its green or blue thats it. 

Without a Co2 indicator or test kit the only way to tell will be when the fish are gasping or dead. Id run 1 2 liter on a 10g.

How is it diffused?
also by the pic that surface looks just like mine and I hold a steady 30ppm on mine.


----------



## Dyjital (Jul 15, 2010)

Don't know how well it's being diffused or absorbed into the tank water but I have the airstone that's putting out very tiny bubbles. 

That may be my saving grace. The fact that they are escaping to the surface.


----------



## tug (Jul 23, 2009)

Nice DIY reactor. You should be adding a lot more plants and dosing fertilizer as well.

There is a thread somewhere that uses a bamboo skewer as a diffuser that reduces the size of the bubbles even further then what you've got now. I doubt that you are reaching any critical levels of CO2 with your current setup. While those bubbles are small, you can still see them and they are mostly floating to the top, not around the plants were they do the most good. For that you should consider adding a small powerhead. My understanding of CO2 misting techniques is that the bubbles should be just barely visible and floating all over the place. You might even be better off trying the Hagen's ladder with a small powerhead to circulate the CO2 enriched water.


----------



## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

You have the right idea, just not set up correctly...

Personally, I think 2, 2-liter bottles is overkill for a 10g. I would drop to 1 bottle considering you only have a couple simple plants (what are those...anacharis, crypt, sword/anubias?). I would also get a better stone...your bubbles are big and not diffusing. Get one that creates a fine mist, or one of those Hagen ladders for $15 or so. Then I would place it under/close to the filter outflow for better circulation. Right now your bubbles are floating straight to the top and not doing any good.

I was running DIY on a 20g in this manner and had good results. Then I got sick of replacing the yeast solution every week.


----------



## Dyjital (Jul 15, 2010)

Appreciate the information.

I'll have to attempt another route as my wife won't let me spend any more dough on the tank. I've dropped enough into both of them already.


----------



## WhiteDevil (May 7, 2009)

A small marineland powerhead will diffuse your Co2 very nicely. 

I run a 4 2liter bottle system with a single 2 liter accumulator thru a bubble counter up to a venturi valve then into my powerhead. I have bubbles smaller then a glass diffuser puts off.

Id take down 1 bottle.
Also air stones are not good to use for diffusers unless they are ceramic or wood. regular air stones will crumble apart. Airline also isnt the best to use but its easily and cheaply replaceable.


----------



## Dyjital (Jul 15, 2010)

M'kay, I'll see if I can round up a cheap low flow powerhead or similar.

I have an 1140 but at 300gph that's a little much for a 10g tank.


So I won't worry too much about the amount of CO2 that's being injected into the system right now since it's not that efficient.


----------



## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

...or just buy a bottle of Excel. Much easier.


----------



## Dyjital (Jul 15, 2010)

I am running Seachem Flourish, and keep in mind I have soil under the rock so not really sure what levels of fertilizers I should be using.

but I'll defiently look into the ladder or something more efficient at the gas transfer. 

(oh and the reason I'm running two 2liter bottles is because my first attempt that I used a 1 gallon jug was a failure so I had all this mix with nowhere to put it. With the two bottle setup I can rotate one bottle out since i have the check valves in place to isolate each bottle and each unit I can do one swap every other week once it's going strong)


----------



## Dyjital (Jul 15, 2010)

upon further inspection of the airstone, 

there is the obvious spot where it's blowing big bubbles but what's been unseen in the last couple of days is two locations where the bubbles are pin size. They are almost un noticeable when they hit the surface. They almost completely dissolve.


----------



## jclee (Aug 24, 2009)

I'm still just getting the hang of planted tanks, but I thought soil = Natural Planted Tank technique = no need to add CO2 or ferts, since soil will be abundant in carbon etc.?

In this thread: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/el-natural/26458-what-el-natural-step-step.html

javalee writes, "No fertilizers, CO2 or other additives are needed. The soil provides a myriad of beneficial bacteria, nutrients, minerals that keep the substrate from producing toxic gas like H2S etc. The plants get all nutrition from the soil and generous feeding of the fish. CO2 is provided by decomposition in the soil" (#2).

I really just want to make sure that I understand this correctly, and that your tank is doing well.


----------



## tug (Jul 23, 2009)

I think both methods work well or a combination of both methods is best. :ear:

With nutrient rich substrates, dose less. I think Walstad's book has a breakdown of the nutrients in several types of food we feed to fish, but you still need to insure your plants get non-limiting levels of all the macro and micro-nutrients they need to stay healthy.

With higher lighting, CO2 and nutrient dosing helps reduce algae and speeds up plant growth. El Natural tanks use low lighting levels and slower plant growth to reduce nutrient demand and algae outbreaks. And, fewer, smaller water changes to keep CO2 levels stable. Algae is much more opportunistic in tanks with fluctuating CO2 levels, IME.

Both methods require less light then many people think they need. Most plants said to require high light are more often limited by carbon availability and need CO2, not more light. Tropica has several CO2/light articles that might also help explain this in more detail.

Required reading,
http://www.tropica.com/home.aspx
I hope this helps.


----------



## Dyjital (Jul 15, 2010)

I haven't had any issues with the fish gasping for air so I'm going along the lines that I have not put too much CO2 into the tank.

That's a good thing. Also on the good side is the plants are really showing signs of waking up from being planted, 1/2 buried and stressed out.

Thanks for the link Tug. I did CO2 with the soil substrate so I could make sure to have a good rapid plant growth and establishment in the tank. Once it's all setup and running on it's own I should have no need for anything except to feed the fish.


----------



## tug (Jul 23, 2009)

Sounds like a plan and a good example of combining both methods.


Dyjital said:


> I have an 1140 but at 300gph that's a little much for a 10g tank.


I like the Duetto DJ 100 for a 10 gallon tank. A versatile little filter. Just take all the filter media out and use the powerhead to provide flow to those hard to reach areas. Now, check out these tires.


----------



## Dyjital (Jul 15, 2010)

I actually scored a little "nano CO2 Diffuser" with the ceramic plate for $.99 off of ebay.

That should be a lot more efficient than my other route.


----------

