New To Co2

[Plecostomos Fan]

I have decided to venture into the world of Co2, but for me it seems complicated ie the relationship between KH and PH from what i have read so far I am not much wiser.
I have seen kits such as this JBL ProFlora u401 disposable CO2 System and was thinking are they any good and easy enough to use considering i am a total newbie to this.
My tank is 200 litres.

 

[CletePurcel]

I am interested in this question as well. I have been looking at the JBL m602 which at the moment is my first choice.

I also have a 200 litre. I just set up a yeast based system in my 100 litre.

 

[micko]

How about making your own using a co2 fire extinguisher? I'm in the process of doing it myself, seen it done before, is far, far cheaper and is totally safe (provided its made correctly)

 

[Plecostomos Fan]

How about making your own using a co2 fire extinguisher? I'm in the process of doing it myself, seen it done before, is far, far cheaper and is totally safe (provided its made correctly)

Think i'll just buy one micko my diy sucs lol but still need more advice/info

 

[Plecostomos Fan]

I am interested in this question as well. I have been looking at the JBL m602 which at the moment is my first choice.

I also have a 200 litre. I just set up a yeast based system in my 100 litre.

I looked at the m602 one but it states "With night switch-off which interrupts the CO2-supply by means of a time-switch (not included)"... i've also seen this one D-D CO2 Set (Fresh Water)from Charterhouse Aquatics.

 

[CletePurcel]

I am interested in this question as well. I have been looking at the JBL m602 which at the moment is my first choice.

I also have a 200 litre. I just set up a yeast based system in my 100 litre.

I looked at the m602 one but it states "With night switch-off which interrupts the CO2-supply by means of a time-switch (not included)"... i've also seen this one D-D CO2 Set (Fresh Water)from Charterhouse Aquatics.

I thought it did include the night switch off:

From Swell:
Contents:

• 1 x Gas bottle with 500 g CO2.
• 1 x Stand for gas bottle.
• 1 x Precision pressure reducer.
• 1 x CO2 vario diffusion system (aquarium height min. 30 cm).
• 1 x Safety valve.
• 1 x Connecting hose 4/6 mm.
• 1 x Magnetic Valve for night switch-off. <----------??
• 1 x CO2 permanent test.

Is this not it? The m601 doesn't have this part. I thought that was the difference.

 

[Haveagojoe]

I,m interested in this as well particually the ph side of it I use a yeast based system and the ph levels drop off really quickly.

 

[CletePurcel]

I,m interested in this as well particually the ph side of it I use a yeast based system and the ph levels drop off really quickly.

What do you mean 'drop off really quickly'? pH is supposed to drop with added CO2.

My pH goes down from 8 to 6.8 with the yeast system.

 

[Plecostomos Fan]

I,m interested in this as well particually the ph side of it I use a yeast based system and the ph levels drop off really quickly.

What do you mean 'drop off really quickly'? pH is supposed to drop with added CO2.

My pH goes down from 8 to 6.8 with the yeast system.

True but isn't its drop in ph, directly effected by the kh?, meaning you have to know the kh and the ph in order to use the corect amount of Co2?

 

[Plecostomos Fan]

I am interested in this question as well. I have been looking at the JBL m602 which at the moment is my first choice.

I also have a 200 litre. I just set up a yeast based system in my 100 litre.

I looked at the m602 one but it states "With night switch-off which interrupts the CO2-supply by means of a time-switch (not included)"... i've also seen this one D-D CO2 Set (Fresh Water)from Charterhouse Aquatics.

I thought it did include the night switch off:

From Swell:
Contents:

• 1 x Gas bottle with 500 g CO2.
• 1 x Stand for gas bottle.
• 1 x Precision pressure reducer.
• 1 x CO2 vario diffusion system (aquarium height min. 30 cm).
• 1 x Safety valve.
• 1 x Connecting hose 4/6 mm.
• 1 x Magnetic Valve for night switch-off. <----------??
• 1 x CO2 permanent test.

Is this not it? The m601 doesn't have this part. I thought that was the difference.

Its confusing but one thing i have found is that if you buy the basic kit you can upgrade all the other components like the ph conrol unit later.

 

[CletePurcel]

I'm not sure about this myself. Some people say that if your 'normal' pH drops by 1 then you have about 30ppm CO2 dissolved in the water. Some say it depends on the KH.

If I leave my water out of the tank for 24 hours it goes back up to 8 from 6.8 so I am assuming that I have plenty of CO2 dissolved in the water, but I could be wrong.

What is probably true is that those CO2 charts that cross reference pH and KH are inaccurate because they only work if you don't have other interfering chemical in the tank like phosphates and other buffering agents. As most tanks do have these then these CO2 charts are often wrong. Some people argue that the test where you let the water stand for 24 hours controls in some way for this problem.

I have just put a drop checker in my tank, but the liquid has gone from blue to colourless. I don't know what the hell this means either.

 

[Plecostomos Fan]

I'm not sure about this myself. Some people say that if your 'normal' pH drops by 1 then you have about 30ppm CO2 dissolved in the water. Some say it depends on the KH.

If I leave my water out of the tank for 24 hours it goes back up to 8 from 6.8 so I am assuming that I have plenty of CO2 dissolved in the water, but I could be wrong.

What is probably true is that those CO2 charts that cross reference pH and KH are inaccurate because they only work if you don't have other interfering chemical in the tank like phosphates and other buffering agents. As most tanks do have these then these CO2 charts are often wrong. Some people argue that the test where you let the water stand for 24 hours controls in some way for this problem.

I have just put a drop checker in my tank, but the liquid has gone from blue to colourless. I don't know what the hell this means either.

Arghhh i think i will go to my local maidenhead aquactics this Friday and ask them,they have a large tank with the JBL set up running and the plants look stunning, be nice if someone on this forum could help us seeing as its the blind leading the blind lol

 

[CletePurcel]

Its confusing but one thing i have found is that if you buy the basic kit you can upgrade all the other components like the ph conrol unit later.

That's what I thought. My original idea was to get this 602 kit and then convert it to a fire extinguisher and use the 500g tank as a reserve. In think the connectors are standard for fire extinguishers.

I have also heard that the pH controller isn't really worth the hassle.

I thought the solenoid (night time shut off) was included in the 602 and that was what you were paying the extra for over the 601. If that's not true then it makes the 602 pretty expensive.

 

[CletePurcel]

Arghhh i think i will go to my local maidenhead aquactics this Friday and ask them,they have a large tank with the JBL set up running and the plants look stunning, be nice if someone on this forum could help us seeing as its the blind leading the blind lol

From what people on here are saying about MA that won't help either

I'm going to Sweet Knowle aquatics next week and will ask them. They seem to know about these things.

 

[RadaR]

There's no point in trying to work out how much CO2 you have based on pH and KH tables. This is because there are other things in the water that effect pH, not solely carbonic acid (when CO2 dissolves in water).
pH will usually decrease by 1 when 30ppm of CO2 is achieved.
Read this guide on drop checkers
Here is a good guide to CO2

Courtesy of Clive from UKAPS -

Yes, over the years, we've collected enough data to see that typically, a pH drop of about 1 unit from the starting water pH value correlates well to a workable CO2 concentration level. That means that before you start adding CO2 (blue dropchecker), if you measure the pH of the tank water to be say, 5, then if you add CO2 and measure the pH a few hours later, a pH of about 4 will typically indicate that you have a good injection rate. If the pH drops significantly more during the day then this will indicate that your injection rate is too high. Again, this does not mean that you will cause damage to fish as a result of too low pH. What it means is that you will do damage to fish due to too much CO2.

pH actually tells you nothing about the amount of Hydrogen, only the ratio. Carbon Dioxide reacts with water to produce a very weak acid called Carbonic Acid. It's considered a very weak acid, because it does not result in a lot of H+ being dumped into the water.