Diy: Co2.. Yes Another One...

[KrayzieVanh]

Well, my tank is heavily planted, but i understand thats still very high. My fish dont show any signs of stress, no gasping or anything. I have a rock in my tank now that adds something to the water and buffers up the pH. If pH goes up, then my CO2 will go down right.

"This is a common misconception when using the CO2 / KH / pH table. It appears that by altering any parameter, the other values should move. But this is not true. Treat the pH value you see as a result. If you alter the KH, then the pH will move. If you alter the CO2 level, then the pH will move. The pH will always react to changes in either of the other two parameters."

I'm suprised you said that about the fish stressing and gasping for air. Yesterday I saw 2 of my Gourami on the surface sucking for air. I didn't have my KH test kit at the time so I didn't know what my Co2 level was. Had to temporary stick a airstone in the tank to oxygenate the water.

You should disconnect your CO2 at night when you turn your lights off. This may help.

 

[love_fish]

Maybe I'll try that then, thanks for the idea.

 

[vic]

Hi:
I am just going through the process of deciding on the method for the difussion of CO2 in my tank. One of the circumstances that you need to address is that CO2 and water may create carbolic acid which is very hard on plastic. That is why there is tubing specific to the transfer of CO2. The blades in the impeller of your A/C impeller are plastic. I would suggest that over time you may well ratch your impeller which would likely result in no water circulation. Bad for the fish but also bad for the HOB. The impeller is driven by an electromagnet that slides over the plastic sleve the impeller sits in. With no circulation of water around the impeller, there is no cooling of the electromagnet which will likely result in the plastic sleve being warped or even broken. Breaking this sleve will result in a siphon = water on the floor. I would suggest you have a look for an intank difusser that is made of glass that will likely do a better job anyway. There are also difusser ladders made by Hagen of plastic that if they deteriorate can be replaced without risk of a water spill or a pilled up filter. I also saw a DIY intank difusse that would be easy to build but I can't remember where. Google fishgeeks and aquarium central and check out the DIY. It was on one of those. It was a ladder type that wound up mounted on the back of the tank with suction cups. Easily hidden by the super plant growth that you will have. Total cost is likely less that $10 if you allready have aquarium safe silicone.
Cheers;

 

[qwikimpss]

Very good suggestions Vic. Another tip, you don't have to disconnect any tubes at night before going to bed, just unscrew the cap on the 2 liter bottle just enough so air can get in and out, thus venting any pressure and not allowing CO2 into the tank at night since, in the dark, aquatic plants use oxygen, not CO2.

For diffusion, personally, I would go with a Hagen ladder. This is what I use on my DIY set up and it works incredibly well! I soon hope to be moving up to pressurized with EI dosing tho!

 

[Dorkhedeos]

ive heard that co2 corrodes the impeller if it reaches it in the form of a bubble. is this true?

 

[qwikimpss]

Yes, it is. It makes plastic brittle, but for it to ruin the impeller on a filter would take a very long time. There are Aquariasts who have been doing it like this for years into the same filter without a problem.

CO2 in the aquarium does create Carbonic Acid, which is why your PH drops when injecting it into your tank.

 

[atmmachine816]

So by unsrewing the cap at night wouldn't that let CO2 out into the air and you would be wasting it, if so wouldn't there be an easier way to stop the CO2 going into your tank but not waste it. And where do you get CO2 test kit things and you are also saying that plastic airline tubing is bad to use and so is an airstone. Are there any alternatives to an airstone because all the ones you have already said don't seem to be much better.

 

[Sheridanp]

Also, if you have a spare intake tube, drill a hole in it too. It works better.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

hrmm, i might try it. this topfin filter is crap anyways, hopefully i can get a new one if it breaks

 

[Sheridanp]

I made a half-batch with a 1 litre bottle, but the mixture is a light brown and the yeast is floating on top. Must I use the 2 litre mixture?