Co2 2hr rule myth

[Danny]

Rotala rotundifolia varieties are the most flexible aquarium plants

Good indicators for the affect of natural/ambient light then

 

[Danny]

I run 24/7 co2 in all my tanks, they all get natural light, one is even outside, they all do great with this method. All my fish and shrimp seem happy never had any problems with them gasping, 24/7 co2 at a low rate is worth a try if you have lots of natural light hitting the tanks.

I stand by this method, i have basically no algae in all tanks, even the tank outside (picture below, its way overgrown) has no real visible algae .

IMG_0847 by Colm Doyle, on Flickr

Why do you run co2 24/7? What do you think the benefits are and would happen if you didn't?

 

[Danny]

Not sure how viable the difference is but I'll post another in the morning to show the affect of natural/ambient lighting.

This is only a 3" cutting though. View attachment 113153

This is early this morning, it's quite overcast today so let's see how it changes....

 

[doylecolmdoyle]

Why do you run co2 24/7? What do you think the benefits are and would happen if you didn't?

The benefits to me are no need to worry about achieving optimal levels of co2 before lights on or before direct natural light starts hitting the tanks. Originally i started running 24/7 as my check valve broke and i noticed the fish didn't mind, the plants responded well and I stopped getting GSA and other forms of algae, I calculated i was actually using less co2 by running a low level 24/7 (say 1 bps) rather then cranking 4 or more bps for 3 hrs before lights on to achieve the 1ph point drop or 30ppm of co2. Now i use the same method on 5 tanks and they all run smoothly, dont need solenoids or timers etc. Need to make sure you have decent surface agitation and flow, for me I think I will always use this method until I see it isnt beneficial.

If I went back to using solenoids and timing the co2 to be at optimal levels before lights on... im sure everything would be pretty much the same, but this method works for me so ill stick with it.

 

[Danny]

This is early this morning, it's quite overcast today so let's see how it changes....View attachment 113161

So here it is again, perhaps it is just a coincidence the AR mini is also reaching in the same direction as the natural light too lol

If the natural/ambient light on a tank is strong enough to cause plants to reach for it I think it impossible to not factor it in as a light source and adjust co2 accordingly.