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You assume that it is a dangerous environment, but is it? Where is the evidence? People have claimed this for decades, yet when tested under controlled conditions, there's no risk observed. You need to have good observations, that support the claim under controlled conditions. If you have algae...

Those 3 species are fast growing weeds. They have better ability to compete than most every species we keep in aquariums. They can start photosynthesis at a lower light and meet respiration demands(thus actually "grow" have a net gain of fixed carbon). However, do you think ALL 400+ species...

There are some other factors that appear overlooked: Temperature Also, while you provide good O2 data(more about that later) Drop checkers are woefully POOR methods to measure CO2. Relative pH might be better, but the tank you have does not degas particularly well and you need to keep the...

pH drop has nothing to do with it, respiration of heterotrophes do. Bacteria, inverts, fish etc. If you have a high ppm of CO2 and the O2 stays the same, then it'll be harder and harder to respire. I'd assume that it also the care for plants since they respire also, but after say 50-70 ppm of...

Seems he's doing okay, not quite enough CO2, the plants are not covered at least in BBA, just wood and lack luster plant growth. Use a pH meter and try the 1.0-1.2 pH drop if you leave the tank be without CO2 for a good 24 hours without lights etc. Skim off any surface scum you can see before...

You might consider a simpler approach that's standard and faster: Invert a milliliter measuring cup, eg, a cooking measuring cup with mls on it. Place under water with all the air removed, take the CO2 line, bubble the gas into the cup and after 5 minutes, or some time frame, measure the volume...

The pH meter works much more accurately than you could possible measure with a drop checker. Is the Drop Checker(DC) measure lime green, or slightly yellow green?(folks have trouble with this.) Can I track this color change over the day when the CO2 is being added? (Not really) How long is the...

I can order 10 at a time and ship them to one point person in the UK if you wish. We can also chrome plate them to look like stainless steel if you wish also.

This graph above is much more similar to what I typically have and find for my tanks. You 'll note the exponential increase that then starts to level off between 9 am till about 11 am, then stays flat. Lights and plant uptake has virtually NO EFFECT. This is because only 1-2% of the CO2 we add...

I'd add enough CO2 to get a pH of 6.6 or thereabouts and keeps it there after about 1 hour or less after the lights come on. If it drifts 0.1 pH units, you are okay, more than 0.2 ppm, some changes likely need to be made. This assumes 100% of the KH is from carbonates

Increased circulation and surface movement. This waste some CO2, but adds much needed O2. See the differences in my 2 graphs for the lethal threshold? The O2 is a good 2 ppm lower Which is about 30% less O2. I removed the cheap junky regulator, added a nice dual stage and nice needle valve...

Because the rate of degassing is relatively constant. It goes up and then levels off. Same with the levels of CO2 that build up inside a bag you breath into. With relatively accurate CO2 dosing, you should be able to add more and more CO2 and have it flatten at some equilibrium. Each time the...

Nothing like a well made needle valve though. These can be had for about 30-40$ US$ if you look and then pay the added shipping cost. Anything with precision and vernier handle will be well worth it over time. A good dual stage regulator will round things out. Then you can adjust with ease...

Generally a pH drop of 1.0 will yield about 30 ppm. 1.2: 45 ppm 1.4: 70 ppm. As you go higher, the change in pH adds a lot more CO2 than at the lower ppm ranges. So you need finer adjustments and to be more careful the higher concentrations you add.

This is from my 180 gallon tank: This was a client's tank before I fixed it.

Frankly, I've never used bubble rates too much, just a rough gauge, an estimation. Then I spend a fair amount of time dialing in the correct rate for that tank. I do not like having to do that process again and again, anytime I switch out CO2 equipment. I loath that chore. Someone, a client...

Neither pic is of me. I would not mind being 20 years younger though.

Well, we do not need to add CO2 gas. Plants will still grow. But they grow slower and they compete with each other stronger for CO2 if it's a limiting resource. In non CO2 tanks, some wimpy plants that are poor competitors, or have higher CO2 demands or need more light before they can start...

I may start doing some decay/dosing test soon as I have a Glut test kit. For example, how long does 2% last in a high light aquarium? A low light aquarium? Canister vs wet/dry filtered tank? Does 4% go down faster? Can we dose say once every 4 hours during the light period if the 2% is...

I think you'd be much better off not paying attention to the DC, and watch the plants, and the effects on them relative to the needle valve. Adjust the valve maybe 1/20th of turn up till you hit a really nice growth and no issues behaviorally with any livestock. Do that slow and steady. They...

I think in line with the canister will be your best option, I just add CO2 to the return pump in my sump. I use to run a needle wheel and then shoot that into the return or a Reactor thingy.........but I have more stable CO2 this way. Clean and keep things in good shape and check often with CO2.

Nitella is very easy to grow, Chara tends to be tougher in aquariums. I've done well with Chara for about 8 months, dies off after, mostly due to me and my own neglect. Stinky too. If you like macro algae, we only have a few options with Fresh, but marine has a few hundred that are suited...

I abandoned the spray bar a long time ago. Not fond of the lily pipe either.

I have not found any difference with CO2 mist vs dissolved. ADA's tanks all use mist from disc anyhoo......... And.....my fish breed........at 29C and at 6-70ppm CO2.

I do not suggest DC's, never really have. they have been around since I got into CO2, Dupla had them. With reference KH solutions, this made it a bit more precise. Still, I think using the pH/KH table, then from there, adjusting upwards, tweaking based on a fish/plants with good current and...

I think it's about 400:1 CO2: H2CO3 For marine water, I keep forgetting due to the diffetrent KH's involved for freshwater. CO2 is a weak acid and does not dissociate well. Stronger acids like say HNO3, nitric acid.......or HCL........do.

No, it's much more concentrated and whitens faster. There is likely some equivalent in the UK. Just gotta look and see.

Tilex kicks plain bleach's hiney. Much better IME.

Try cleaning once every month or so for in lines, 2-3 weeks for disc in the tank

Tilex, toilet bowl cleaner works much better than bleach FYI. Takes about 10 min and it will make any and all stuff growing or discoloring it go away. Rinse 2-3 x and then soak in dechlorinator for a min, then return to service with mist

Measuring CO2 is not a simple affair. I think many of us take it for granted. and that's about the worst thing we can do as hobbyists. Adding too much light for the newbies is the other big issue. Regards, Tom Barr

So how might you verify and confirm the chart or any method? Eg, how would you calibrate a methods such as any of these? We can calibrate for a light meter, or a NO3 test kits by usign known standard solutions, but for CO2 dissolved in water at a specific ppm???? Well, we can use DI/RO water...

I was looking for some check valves and ran across these made in the UK Live Steam Inline Oil / Check Valve. 1/4 x 40 TPI (1/8" Pipe) www.steamfittings.co.uk Dean Rogers 36 Elder Drive Daventry Northamptonshire NN110XE United Kingdom Phone: 01341|280637 Email: dean@steamfittings.co.uk I'm not...

These are like the old Carbo plus units, these have declined in use for about the last 10-12 years here. I hardly know anyone that uses them, still finding a market for suckers in Europe though :lol: Merrill was one on the first people who used them here, he died about 6 years ago, nicest old...

I'd thought I'd post a nice reasonable high grade valve exampel for folks. I called Ideal Valve Inc up here and asked for a quote per valve for their vernier caliper handle valves which are far nicer than the Swageloks and already have the vernier handles, 1/8" MPT included. 67.50$, 5% off for...

Unless the color resolution of the pH measure is also accurate, it's not critical for the KH solution to match and be accurate that much either. So if you used a pH meter probe in the 4 KH solution, then it would need to be accurate since you have good pH resolution/accuracy, but those color pH...

It will if you do not do water changes, if you do say 25% 2x a month, you are going to be fine, more will make it even less an issue. Unlike limestone, adding acetic acid, vinegar etc, does not foam up, break down the carbonates. It's less soluble than marine sands etc. It will dissolve, but...

Lily pipes suck. They break like, well, glass. They have very limited adjustments. They cost $$$ They have few options for current direct and spread. A surface skimmer is a much better option, Loc line, powerheads, air stones etc on timers etc. These can be configured to do many different...

I have references from TFH going back to 1962 using DIY CO2 and to the 1940-1950's growing algae in enriched culture using CO2 gas. It's well over 30 years old in the hobby using gas tanks. 1985 or so was the first gas tank system I saw from Dupla, but they had bene using it a few years prior...

The more folks get and understand this issue, the better. This helps to prevent the myths and has more folks out there and more eyes to help show what is really going on. And you learn more about the fish in general and how they work. Regards, Tom Barr

Well, it's one of those things..........advice based on non CO2 enrichment and pH. Since many things can affect pH, you need to know what it is causing the change, not just the change in and of itself. Correlation for pH does not tell you what might occur with CO2 enrichment. A good way of...

Basically, CO2 is not a salt, KH is. Rapid changes in pH due to KH= bad. Rapid changes in pH due to CO2= does not matter. Most advice is entirely based on assuming that pH changes only due to salts/KH, not due to change in CO2. Hence the problem with one dimensional advice and broad...

I'd say you'd be best off using 2 AM1000 reactors, not one and use 2 filters like the one above. I do not think you'll have enough flow through a single AM1000 to do a 230 gal aquarium adequately. I use 2 AM1000 for a client's 350 and it's barely enough.............and that is with 400gph going...

I suppose there is an upper limit for plants, but it'll kill fish etc long before you ever get close. Regards, Tom Barr

Pipe thread compound, or teflon tape sometimes, always add after the solenoid, this way the leaks are minimized. Some argued that the pressure changes when the solenoid is on/off, changes the flow rates, but I've not found that to be true with decent needle valves. Pressure still changes once...

Tilex works much better than bleach. Rinse well. Regards, Tom Barr

Please note, the mazzei venturi has trade offs, every method nutrients, cO2, light, tanks etc does.......... Looking at these trade offs and seeing which is best for you is the key focus here. Mazzei: These need higher flow rates/pressures. So unless you have a external pump, 600-1200gph...

Obviously none is bad, no plant growth is then possible other than KH break down. But rather than none or low or high etc, stable might be a better concept. Stable low CO2 levels allow plants to adapt, they also will do the same at high levels of CO2. But if you send the CO2 levels all over and...

As with any planted tank, less light = less demand= less dosing = less work and this all can lead to less water changes. I think if you do something like an ADA style tank with low light, rich sediments etc, say 1.5 w/gal of light, some CO2 or Excel, once a month water changes are not an issue...